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14 February 2008 / Paula Jefferson
Issue: 7308 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Costs , Limitation
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Making history

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Hoare could be a catalyst for further changes to limitation restrictions, says Paula Jefferson

 

As had been widely anticipated (see NLJ, 18 January 2008, pp 84–85), the House of Lords departed from its previous decision in Stubbings v Webb [1993] AC 498, [1993] 1 All ER 322 when it handed down judgment in the appeals of A v Hoare and other appeals [2008] UKHL 8, [2008] All ER (D) 251 (Jan) concerning limitation in assault and abuse cases. In Hoare, the House of Lords considered the historical development of the law of limitation in the context of personal injury claims. The need to reconsider limitation in these cases arose because under Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980), s 2, as had been held in Stubbings, the limitation period was a fixed six years. The claimants argued that this was an anomaly and their claims for personal injury, albeit caused by a deliberate assault, should be dealt with as for any other injury.
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