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PI Brief Update

29 July 2011 - PI Practitioner

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Category: PIBULJ
06 Sep 2011
Last Updated: 09 January 2014
Payment of damages where long-term outlook for Claimant uncertain

Jamie-Rae Cook (by her litigation friend & mother Karen Cook) v (1) David Andrew Cook (2) Elizabeth Harriet Walker (2011) [2011] EWHC 1638 (QB)

In a claim where the long term outlook for the Claimant at the date of the trial was uncertain and speculative, Eady J held damages should be assessed on a staged basis, postponing a final resolution to some date in the future when the quantum in respect of the Claimant’s needs as an adult could be meaningfully assessed.

Although it was affirmed that it is the normal rule that all issues should where possible be resolved at a single hearing, and that there was a public interest in the finality of litigation, where the interests of justice demand it there is a power to postpone some issues for later resolution. This is an exceptional course, however, that requires justification on the facts of the case (Mulholland v Mitchell (No1) (1971) AC 666 HL and Murphy v Stone-Wallwork (Charlton) Ltd (1969) 1 WLR 1023 HL considered).

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Excerpts from judgments and statutes are Crown copyright. Any Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of OPSI and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland under the Open Government Licence.