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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Growing old
One of the pleasures of growing old, is the realisation that time is circular and one returns to moment after moment that appeared to be past and gone. Thus this year, I think I have drafted three skeleton arguments on the comprehensive insurance point, which refuses to die, despite having been ventilated at various points…
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Albion (Un)Chained
Last night I tuned into watch the leadership debate, between the various candidates for the Conservative party leadership, and in consequence the Premiership. There was a notable absentee, Mr Johnson, the favorite to win the position. Wisely he had weighed up the benefits and disbenefits of attending and realised he had more to lose than…
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Fleet hire and need
A sub species of hire claims that poses particular challenges to litigators are those claims which concern what may be called “fleet hire”. They may range from claims concerning PSVs to recovery trucks and involve organisations from coach companies down to the small business operating 3 or 4 specialised vehicles. The golden prize for those…
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The scarperer’s charter
Easter has now been and gone, and I note with surprise that it is some months since I updated this blog at the beginning of the year. How quickly 2019 is passing. Unlike the Brexit debacle, where the same old cabbage soup is reheated and served up to increasing public indifference. Perhaps the government’s new…
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Human nature II
Assuming that the issues have been sufficiently telegraphed to the putatively dishonest party, how is fundamental dishonesty to be defined? Perhaps the starting point is to consider the latest formulation of what would be dishonesty in a recent decision of the Supreme Court that of Ivey (Appellant) v Genting Casinos (UK) Ltd Crockfords [2017] UKSC 67 where…
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Human nature
It is sad to say, that insurance fraud is present in a significant number of cases in road traffic litigation. Whether that involves hardened criminals operating in organised gangs to fake accidents and claims, or otherwise ordinary people who feel able to lie that they have sustained whiplash injury when they have not, these cases…
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2019
2019 is about to begin with the Navy tussling with asylum seekers in the Channel, the Brexit obsessed political class engaging in another variety of navel gazing and Mr Trump ordering concrete in order to build his wall to keep the poor and desperate out of sight. I do not hold out much hope for…
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Illegality reconsidered
A recent case that caught my eye on illegality is that of Wallett v Vickers [2018] EWHC 3088 which is a decision of the High Court of England and Wales, and so binding in those jurisdictions. It is also a useful illustration of just how high the bar can be set in relation to illegality arguments, though…
Researching an issue in a current case?
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