COURT OF APPEAL DECISION IN SIMMONS v CASTLE IS A SENSIBLE OUTCOME SAYS THE ABI
Today’s decision by the Court of Appeal to revise its original decision
in the case of Simmons v Castle is good news for consumers, businesses
and the taxpayer says the ABI.
The ABI applied to re-open the judgment on the grounds that it would
upset the carefully balanced package of Government reforms to the civil
litigation system by introducing the 10% increase in general damages
ahead of other measures. Under the original decision, the 10% increase
would have applied to all cases decided after 1 April 2013. Instead this
will now be more aligned with the Government’s reforms and will not be
introduced on cases where the claimant has entered a conditional fee
arrangement before 1 April 2013. For any cases started after this date,
the 10% increase will be balanced by reductions in legal costs.
James Dalton, the ABI’s Assistant Director of Motor and Liability, said:
“The insurance industry took this action in our continuing fight to
reduce unnecessary costs being passed onto honest motorists. Today’s
decision by the Court of Appeal means that insurers will not be forced
to pass on about £300 million in increased costs to the premium paying
public, which represents around £13 per motor insurance policy. We have
won a battle against unnecessary costs but not the war. So the fight to
bring about a speedier, more cost-efficient civil litigation system for
the benefit of claimants and customers continues.
“We are pleased that the Court recognised that the original judgment
upset the package of measures which feature in the Legal Aid, Sentencing
and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and which were originally intended
by Lord Justice Jackson to maintain a careful balance between the
interests of claimants and defendants. We are also pleased that the
Court now acknowledges that it should have sought submissions from ABI
and other interested parties before announcing the increase."
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