Articles
This site contains a substantial collection of writing on credit hire law and practice, developed over the past decade. The emphasis is practical: what the authorities mean, how the rules operate and where the real risks lie.
The latest specialist analysis appears below. If you are looking for a particular issue, the four gateways provide a quicker route into the archive.
Older articles should be read in the context of the law at the date of publication.
Damages
Impecuniosity, basic hire rates, need, period, mitigation and the recoverable measure of loss.
Agreements & Regulation
Enforceability, contractual liability, misrepresentation, credit hire and credit repair agreements, illegality and regulatory issues.
Evidence & Commercial Vehicles
Witness and documentary evidence, procedure, dishonesty, taxis, private hire vehicles, fleets and profit-earning chattels.
Evidence & procedure · Dishonesty & fraud · Taxi, fleet & commercial
Appeals & Costs
Appellate principles, QOCS, non-party costs orders and the procedural and costs consequences of credit hire litigation.
Recent analysis
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Pleading points
Despite the current shutdown of much of the economy, the world continues to turn, the seasons change and amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules and its Practice Directions grind forward with the remorseless force of the law. Last week saw the coming into force of some much heralded amendments to Practice Direction 16, Practice Direction…
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Misrepresentation and rescission
Misrepresentation arguments could be described in one of my favourite phrases, as the gift that never stops giving. I have lost count of the number of times I have argued the same point in various incarnations: misrepresentation, mistake, collateral contract etc etc. The points just keep coming. Sometimes it is argued that a claimant under…
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Darkest hour
Last night, I cheered myself up by watching Darkest Hour. If you have not seen it, I heartily recommend it for a number of reasons. First, Gary Oldman’s performance as Winston Churchill is simply superb. Secondly, it is a well paced story grounded however imperfectly, and with a degree of licence on well known and…
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The customer is always right
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The wall
Sometimes in credit hire litigation a new and interesting point is raised, or a new riff upon an old melody. But some points just come round and round, like a needle stuck in a groove in an old style 45. One such point is the argument that a claimant’s liability to pay her credit hire…
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Betterment in the County Court at Newcastle upon Tyne
On 20th December 2019 I attended before HH Judge Freedman in the County Court at Newcastle upon Tyne to argue an appeal on the issue of “betterment” instructed by the very competent and very pleasant Mr Liam Davidson of Winns Solicitors. The decision is (as far as I know) the only decision of a Circuit…
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The rise and fall of the doctrine of illegality
I note with surprise that I have not updated this blog for a while. How quickly time passes. The year ends and a new one begins. The seasons come and go. This weekend I pause for reflection on a number of matters, looking out of the window of my study onto this Green and Pleasant…
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Fixed costs and interpreters’ fees
Roughly 50% of the credit hire trials I have fought, have involved the claimant giving evidence through an interpreter. The reasons are simple. Many of the trials take place in the melting pots of the big cities. Many immigrants are from the poorer sections of society and have no “safety net” should they have a…
Researching an issue in a current case?
If the point arises in substantial litigation or an appeal and you would like specialist advice, please contact my clerks at Hailsham Chambers.