Success in Defending £100k Credit Hire Claim
Timothy Connolly, acting for the Defendant in a recent credit hire claim with claimed losses of circa £100k, applied on the morning of trial to have the Claimant’s claim struck out for a serious defect in the pleaded claim.
The Claimant was neither the owner of the car involved in the accident, nor a Bailee in possession, so had suffered no loss arising from the accident. The Claimant was a Director of a Limited Company which owned the car and employed the person driving it at the time of the accident, the Company being a separate and distinct legal entity to the Claimant.
The application of the Defendant was adjourned along with the trial to allow a cross application to be made by the Limited Company, to be substituted as Claimant. Costs were reserved. At the hearing of the adjourned applications, the application of the Defendant was allowed and that of the proposed new Claimant refused, leaving the Claim struck out. The Claimant and the proposed new Claimant were ordered to pay the costs of the Defendant of the action including the adjourned trial. The Judge concluded that on the evidence before him, the Limited Company had no basis in law for bringing a Claim.
An application for permission to appeal was refused.
