Causation, Remoteness & Damages An essential element of a claim in negligence is causation. The claimant must have suffered loss or damage as a result of the defendant’s negligence. The concept of causation, in a legal sense, is more complex and less transparent than it first appears. The concept of “remoteness” of damage draws the limits of causation. Loss or […]
Contribution The amount of contribution fixed by the court between parties is to be such as is just and equitable, having regard to each party’s degree of fault. One person may be indemnified completely. Comparative blameworthiness is considered. A concurrent wrongdoer who has settled the claim may seek a contribution from the others. If the settlement was excessive, the amount […]
Causation The courts take a common sense approach to causation. The matter should not be approached in the manner in which a scientist or philosopher might approach the issue. Many incidents and accidents occur as a result of multiple causes attributable to several people. It does not follow that each such person may be deemed to have caused the accident […]
Concurrent Wrongdoers Concurrent wrongdoers are two or more wrongdoers who are responsible to the claimant for the same damage. Persons may become concurrent wrongdoers as a result of vicarious liability of one for another, breach of joint duty, conspiracy, concerted action to a common end or independent acts causing the same damage; The wrong on the part of one or […]
Claimant Part Fault Where a claimant is partly at fault, the damages he is entitled to recover are reduced in proportion to his relative fault. This issue arises most commonly in the context of negligence. Contributory negligence may arise between defendants or between the claimant and one or more defendants. The position is regulated by the Civil Liability Act. Prior […]
Overview The rules on remoteness may limit the extent to which the claimant may recover or may preclude recovery entirely. There is liability for negligence where there is a breach of duty causing damage, and the damage is not too remote. Where loss or damage has been caused by the defendant, but it is too far removed as a consequence […]
Civil Liability Act Defender Ltd v HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Ireland) Ltd [2020] IESC 37dealt with the issue of contribution. “Here, the fundamental difficulty for Defender is created, in my view, by the identification mechanism which is, however, a central provision in the Act. Once it is accepted that the release of BLMIS necessarily has the effect that Defender must […]
Hindsight When a person claims that he would have acted differently with hindsight and accordingly that failure to disclose a matter or negligent misrepresentation caused his loss, the court may judge this to be wishful thinking with the benefit of hindsight. “When one is assessing a statement of a person as to what he would have done or not done, […]