Remedies in Tort Flashcards
What are the two main remedies in tort?
- Damages
- Injunctions
Describe mitigation of loss
- A claimant who has suffered a loss as a result of a tort is entitled to damages for any losses. However, the claimant is expected to take reasonable steps to mitigate any losses
Give a case that concerned mitigation of loss
- Ronan v Sainsbury’s (2006)
What happened in Ronan v Sainsbury’s (2006)? What was held?
- Claimant injured at work due to the defendant’s negligence. His injuries meant that he couldn’t stay in his new banking job and so he decided to go to university
- Defendants argued that proper mitigation of loss would have required the claimant to resume his old jo with them and drop out of university
- HELD - no lol. Unreasonable because he only decided to go to university because of his injuries
What principle was established in South Australia Management Corporation v York Montague Ltd (1996)?
- A defendant will only be liable for the consequences arising from negligent performance of a duty taking into account things like foreseeability and remoteness
If a property is completely destroyed, what does the defendant have to pay?
- The cost of completely replacing the house
If the house is only damaged so far as property is concerned, what will the defendant have to pay?
- The cost of repair and the amount by which the property has fallen in value
What are the 6 main categories of damages payable in tort?
- General damages
- Special damages
- Nominal damages
- Contemptuous Damages
- Aggravated Damages
- Exemplary Damages
What are general damages? Example?
- Damages which are not capable of being calculated before the trial and the court has to decide them
- The loss of future earnings and for pain and suffering
Give a case for general damages
- Giambrone v JMC Holidays (2002)
What happened in Giambrone v JMC Holidays (2002)? What was the issue? What did the defendant say? What was held?
- Mass food poisoning at a resort in Majorca
- ISSUE - what value do you place on care?
- Defendant said that awarding a sum for parental care is unfair because they should do it anyway
- HELD - Damages payable because of the extent of the poisoning as the children needed extra care
What are special damages? Example?
- Damages which are capable of being calculated at the time of the trial
- Loss of earnings and medical expenses before trial
What are pecuniary losses? Example?
- Pre-trial expenses - actually and reasonably incurred since the date of the accident and up to the date of trial
- Loss of expenses, damage to clothing and belongings and especially medical costs
Give two cases that concern expenses incurred on one person’s behalf by another
- Donnelly v Joyce (1973)
- Hunt v Severs (1994)
What was the issue in Donnelly v Joyce? What was held?
- Can a child recover lost earnings forfeited by a parent in order to stay home and care for them?
- HELD - yes. These losses are directly consequential and stemmed directly from the accident
What was held in Hunt v Severs (1994)? What did the court say?
- Following the negligence of the defendant the claimant was allowed to recover the cost of care that she would have had to pay for, despite the fact that she had married the defendant and he provided the care for her
- Court said not allowing her to recover the cost of care would be unfair and against public policy
How is future loss of earnings typically calculated? What do the courts sometimes do when this is calculated for a whole life term? What else will the courts make an allowance for? Seen in what case? What is this called?
- Calculated by reference to a calculation that takes account of how long a claimant is likely to live and what they would have earned had the negligence not occurred
- The courts often come up with a figure that will allow the claimant to buy an annuity - a financial package that pays an amount on a monthly basis
- Will also make allowance for the fact that the claimant’s prospects may well have improved but for the accident
- Seen in Doyle v Wallace
- Called a multiplicand
What happened in Doyle v Wallace?
- Court had to decide calculation for future loss of chance of a careworker who had been about to commence training as a teacher
- Court agreed it had to be realistic and apply a ‘discount rate’
What was decided in Smith v Manchester?
- Future lost earnings is an accepted head of loss of chance in monetary and career terms
Explain calculating lost years
- The courts have to make this estimate, which is usually an attempt to work out how long the claimant would have lived had the accident not occurred, with a view to working out what their earning would be for that period
Give two cases for calculating lost years
- Pickett v British Rail (1978)
- Hall v Rankin (2000)
What principle was established in Pickett v British Rail (1978)?
- That damages for lost years could include a sum to cover loss of earnings in that period, whatever the age of the claimant
What did the court say in Hall v Rankin (2000)?
- It is possible to increase damages to take allowances of the fact a claimant might be on a no win no fee agreement and would therefore need to pay out a success fee to their lawyer when they won the claim
Name two other heads of loss
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of amenity (the right to do something, can even be a right to a sex life)