Lady Brownlie was on holiday in Egypt with her husband, the international lawyer Sir Ian Brownlie QC, when the crash happened. She was seriously injured, while Sir Ian and Sir Ian’s daughter Rebecca, a children’s nurse, both died. Lady Brownlie issued a claim in contract and tort in England.
Terrence Donovan, partner, Kingsley Napley, who acted for Lady Brownlie, said: ‘This judgment will provide welcome clarity for any other English nationals who have the misfortune to be injured or killed in foreign accidents, and who wish to bring their claims in the English Courts.
‘Lady Brownlie, by her courage and determination, has done a great favour to them, and made an important contribution to English travel law.’
The Supreme Court had previously remitted the case to the High Court after finding the company sued was not the operator of the hotel. Lady Brownlie was allowed to substitute the defendant and serve proceedings on them out of the jurisdiction. The defendant appealed on the basis permission should not have been given to serve the proceedings out of the jurisdiction. However, this was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
The defendant then raised two issues before the Supreme Court. The first was whether the claims in tort satisfied the requirements of the jurisdictional gateway in the Civil Procedure Rules. The second was whether Lady Brownlie needed to provide evidence of Egyptian law to show her claims had a reasonable prospect of success.
Ruling in FS Cairo (Nile Plaza) LLC v Lady Brownlie [2021] UKSC 45, however, the Supreme Court decided in favour of Lady Brownlie and dismissed the defendant’s appeal by a 4-1 majority. The claim will now return to the High Court.
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