Does Simmons v Castle bring simplicity & clarity to damages for tort, asks Kate Parker
The Lord Chief Justice, Master of the Rolls and Vice President of the Court of Appeal gave judgment on a consent order in Simmons v Castle [2012] EWCA Civ 1039—something that would normally be dealt with by a single judge in writing. The judgment was used as an opportunity to formally announce a 10% increase in general damages for most tort actions, where judgment is given after
1 April 2013. The court went on to state: “While it can be said that this conclusion does not achieve perfect justice in every case…Our conclusion has the great merits of providing a simplicity and clarity.”
Time for change
This increase was a key feature of Sir Rupert Jackson’s “package of recommendations” for civil costs reform. It was intended to help compensate claimants for the non-recoverability of success fees and ATE premiums in post-1 April 2013 conditional fee agreements (CFAs), provisions now incorporated into the Legal Aid, Sentencing
