header-logo header-logo

02 May 2025 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8114 / Categories: Opinion , Legal services , Profession , Damages , Expert Witness
printer mail-detail

The insider: 2 May 2025

217366
Can you call it? Dominic Regan plays damages bingo & enjoys a sunny day in court

The eye-watering amount supposedly at stake in the secret car finance commission litigation is estimated at £44bn. Last October, the Court of Appeal found outright for the various claimants in Johnson v FirstRand Bank [2024] EWCA Civ 1282. In April, the Supreme Court heard the lenders’ appeal over three days.

I dropped in to hear the closing submissions of Rob Weir KC who had won in the court below. As a regular visitor, I was taken aback to discover that it was entrance by ticket only. I detected claims management chancers in the throng. The first-floor court was used for overflow, and it was lovely with sunlight pouring in, acres of space and a video link to upstairs.

In another life Weir could be a bingo caller par excellence. He sailed seamlessly through an ocean of page and paragraph references. Every question put to him by the Bench was answered directly and

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

Boodle Hatfield—Tom McLaughlin

Boodle Hatfield—Tom McLaughlin

Boodle Hatfield welcomes new employment partner, Tom McLaughlin

Arc Pensions Law—Victoria Thompson-Hill, Jonathan Mason & Georgi Ivanov

Arc Pensions Law—Victoria Thompson-Hill, Jonathan Mason & Georgi Ivanov

National specialist pensions law firm strengthens team with three new appointments

Jurit—Christian Abletshauser

Jurit—Christian Abletshauser

Jurit appoints Christian Abletshauser to lead family law practice

NEWS
Burges Salmon appoints Benn Richards to strengthen Contentious Insolvency offering
A High Court decision has clarified that a home may be unfit for human habitation not only where conditions endanger health or safety, but also where they seriously undermine comfort and convenience

A longer time limit for employment tribunal claims, new charity law thresholds, property tribunal recruitment and appellate guidance on small-claims costs feature in the latest Civil Way round-up

A recent High Court ruling could make issue estoppel considerably more complex in cross-border litigation, requiring parties to consider the foreign law governing the underlying claim
The Supreme Court has overturned Cheshire West’s bright-line test for deprivation of liberty, replacing it with a broader, more contextual assessment that gives greater weight to an individual’s wishes, feelings and apparent consent
back-to-top-scroll