Allen v Southwick
Henry Vanderpump instructed by Charlotte Brown of Keoghs achieved dismissal of a carbon monoxide poisoning claim against a landlord brought by a tenant. The Claimant relied upon common law negligence, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the Defective Premises Act 1972 and the Occupiers Liability Act 1957. There was no dispute that the Claimant had suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from a gas cooker.
Henry made a ‘half time submission’ asking the Judge to dismiss the claim without hearing any evidence from the Defendant. He argued that the arguments presented by the Claimant demonstrated no case to answer and that the claim should be summarily dismissed. Whilst such applications are commonly deployed in criminal cases they are unusual in civil proceedings. The application had the benefit that the landlord was saved the pressure of facing cross examination and answering questions about events that had occurred many years before.
