header-logo header-logo

How broad is your settlement?

24 April 2015 / Adam Short
Issue: 7649 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice
printer mail-detail
nlj_24_04_15_short

Don’t settle for less, says Adam Short

When parties wish to settle litigation they will often do so by reference to the claim number in that litigation. For instance, a settlement agreement may include wording such as: “In full and final settlement of the claim in proceedings number [X] the parties agree as follows.”

However, the recent case of Brazier v News Group Newspapers [2015] EWHC 125 (Ch), [2015] All ER (D) 209 (Jan) illustrates that a settlement using such wording may, in fact, result in a settlement of wider scope than the parties (or at least one of them) envisaged. As such, parties must take extra care when drafting settlement agreements to ensure that they are not settling claims they do not intend to.

The facts in Brazier

Mr Brazier was of interest to the tabloid newspapers because of his relationship with Jade Goody. In February 2012, Brazier brought a claim against News Group Newspapers (NGN) in relation to the interception of voicemail messages left on his mobile phone (now commonly

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

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
back-to-top-scroll