header-logo header-logo

08 October 2009 / Paul Bugden
Issue: 7388 / Categories: Features , Commercial
printer mail-detail

3rd party damage recovery

Paul Bugden examines the various ways in which a claimant can recover in damages sums payable to third parties

One of the more difficult areas of damages arises where a claimant seeks to recover an indemnity in respect of sums paid or payable to third parties in respect of claims made against him which are said to arise out the defendant’s breach of contract with the claimant. Such claims can also of course arise in tort; in which case much the same considerations will apply.

In general, a claimant should be able to rely upon a judgment (English or foreign) or award without more, so as to establish the amount of his liability, leaving it to the defendant to show, if he can, that the claimant has failed to mitigate his loss or that the award is (in the relevant sense) unreasonable or perverse.

That is so even if it can later be shown that the competent tribunal made an error of fact or law and, unless the tribunal acted perversely or reached

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
back-to-top-scroll