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

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

Muckle LLP—Roland Fairlamb

Muckle LLP—Roland Fairlamb

Specialist associate solicitor rejoins Muckle’s leading employment team

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
back-to-top-scroll