A primary reference tool on the general principles and the particular aspects of common law damages, McGregor on Damages is still the leading authority on damages and has been for over 50 years. Part of the Common Law Library McGregor on Damages provides in-depth and comprehensive coverage of the law, from detailed consideration of the general principles to a full analysis of specific areas of damages.
Features:
- Provides comprehensive coverage of the law of damages, from detailed consideration of the general principles to specific heads of damages
- Clarifies complex areas such as loss of a chance, mitigation, causation and exemplary damages
- Explains difficult and rapidly developing heads of damages such as licence fee damages, vindicatory damages, and damages that permit disgorgement of a defendant's profits
- Examines such issues as periodical payments and interest on damages
- Goes through statement of case, the trial and appeals
Considers damages in relation to particular contracts, torts and human rights such as below:
Contracts
- Sale of Goods, Hire and Hire-purchase of Goods, Sale of Land, Contracts to Pay or to Lend Money, Contracts for Carriage, Contracts of Employment, and Contracts for Professional Services
Torts
- Torts affecting Goods: Damages and Destruction, Misappropriation, Torts Affecting Land, Torts Causing Personal Injury, Torts Causing Death, Assault and False Imprisonment, Malicious Institution of Legal Proceedings, Defamation, Economic Torts, Misrepresentation, Infringement of Privacy, Confidence and Private information, and Misfeasance in Public Office
Human Rights
- Comprehensive examination of damages under the Human Rights Act 1998 including the claims for which these damages are available, the circumstances when they will be available, and their quantum.
The First Supplement to the Twenty-First edition covers all the latest developments in the law of damages since publication of the Twenty-First Edition in December 2020. These include important decisions on causation, remoteness of damage and scope of duty of care, consequential loss and indemnity clauses, damages for a loss of a chance, exemplary damages, disgorgement of profits, penalties, taxation consequences, interest, damages for defamation, harassment and infringement of privacy, damages for personal injury, damages consequent upon death including dependancy claims.
Case updates include (note this is not an exhaustive list):
- Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2021] UKSC 20 and Khan v Meadows [2021] UKSC 21 which are two extremely important decisions of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, sitting with a panel of seven judges in each case, addressing the manner in which damages are limited across all of tort law by the concept of the scope of the defendant's duty. The first case concerned negligence by accountants and the second concerned negligence by a doctor.
- Large v Hart [2021] EWCA Civ 24 a decision prior to Manchester Building Society and Khan involving damages for the negligence of a surveyor, with scope of duty limitations consistent with the two Supreme Court decisions.
- Triple Point Technology Inc v PTT Public Company Ltd [2021] UKSC 29 in which the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom addressed the anterior question to whether a clause is liquidated damages or a penalty, namely whether the clause applies to the circumstances or whether in the circumstances the general law rules of damages will apply.
- Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd [2021] UKSC 1; [2021] 2 WLR 123, in which Lords Hamblen and Leggatt (with whom Lord Reed agreed) consider issues of how, and when, the "but for" test of causation of loss should apply in a claim for damages.
- British Gas Trading Ltd v Shell UK Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 2349 in which the Court of Appeal again considered the but-for test for causation in the context of a breach of contract by sellers of gas under long term agreements that obliged the sellers to maintain a capacity to deliver natural gas at a specified rate.
- PCP Capital Partners LLP v Barclays Bank Plc [2021] EWHC 307 (Comm) in which Waksman J considered the difficult question of what threshold there should be before recovery of damages will be permitted for loss of a commercial chance.
- Swift v Carpenter [2020] EWCA Civ 1295 in which the Court of Appeal addressed and resolved the denial of reasonable compensation for the additional capital costs of special accommodation for personal injury in circumstances in which interest rates are negative.
- Head v The Culver Heating Co Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 34 in which, in a claim for damages for death, the Court of Appeal addressed the recovery of income during the lost years where the income arose from a company in which the claimant was the driving force.
