Fairclough Homes Ltd v Summers (2012)

Fairclough Homes Ltd v Summers (2012) in United Kingdom

Fairclough Homes Ltd v Summers (2012)

“In Fairclough Homes Ltd v Summers (2012) the Supreme Court ruled that a striking out order should only be made as a last resort in exceptional cases. The claimant had been injured in a workplace accident. The employer admitted liability and the only dispute was over the amount of damages to be awarded. At a court hearing undercover surveillance evidence (a video) was produced which indicated that his symptoms were not as bad as he had made out. The claimant had made a partially fraudulent claim, exaggerating the injuries that he had suffered. The Supreme Court stated unanimously that the case should not be struck out. The need to respect the overriding objective and to deal with cases justly meant that a court should not usually throw out a case altogether in such circumstances. Although a serious abuse of process had occurred, the claimant had suffered significant injury as a result of the defendant’s negligence and had been entitled to receive damages. There were other ways of deterring dishonest claimants, such as making an order for costs, reducing interest payments and proceedings for contempt of court.”

Source: Update to English Legal System (Elliot). Pag. 538

See Also

Civil justice system
Court Fees
Court Sanctions
Biguzzi v Rank Leisure plc (1999)


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