M presented a claim for personal injury, credit hire, recovery and storage charges following a road traffic accident. At trial he was cross examined by Mr Hurd through an interpreter.
The Judge found M to be an evasive and difficult witness. His personal injury claim was not supported by the objective evidence, such as the photographs of the vehicle damage, his GP records or the report he made to his own insurer. The Judge therefore found that M had not been injured and dismissed that element of the claim.
Further, the Judge dismissed the storage claim as, given the minimal damage to the vehicle, it could have been stored on the road. The recovery charges were dismissed too as the car was found to be roadworthy, despite M’s evidence that it was not.
The only element of M’s claim that was successful was his claim for hire. He was awarded £2900 for hire charges against an initial credit hire claim of over £10,000.
The Judge then went on to consider s.57. He found that M had lied about being injured, particularly given M had denied injury to his GP and insurer at the material time. Further, the Judge found M had lied about his car being unroadworthy meaning the claim for recovery charges was also dishonest. M's dishonesty was fundamental.
M’s claim was therefore dismissed in its entirety. The Defendant obtained an enforceable costs order of circa £8000 once deductions had been made for the honest elements of the claim.
James Hurd's chambers profile can be viewed HERE.