When is it equitable to allow a time-barred claim to proceed, asks Malcolm Keen
The House of Lords recently gave its judgment in Bowden v Poor Sisters of Nazareth and Others [2008] UKHL 32, a Scottish case concerning allegations of childhood abuse. The claim was time-barred under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 and the House upheld the Court of Session's decision not to disapply the limitation period. Bowden is relevant not only to civil claims arising from abuse many years ago but also to other personal injury cases where the defendant's alleged tort relates to circumstances long before proceedings were issued, such as occupational illness claims.
The claimants (pursuers) were former residents of a children's home run by the defendants (defenders). The first claimant, born in 1963, lived in the home between 1966 and 1979. She reached the age of majority (18) in January 1981. The second claimant, born in 1953, lived there between 1961 and 1969. She turned 18 in November 1971. Both claimants consulted solicitors soon after the publication of newspaper articles in 1997 concerning events said to have taken
