Sarah Crowther examines practical guidance for assessing PI damages under a foreign law
In the first decision of the English courts since the entry into force of Rome II (EC Regulation 864/2007), Wall v Mutuelle de Poitiers Assurances [2014] EWCA Civ 138, seeks to set out the new approach to assessment of damages in personal injury claims to which a foreign law applies.
This article considers how much guidance Wall has provided and which issues remain open-ended.
Applying foreign law to a claim in the Courts of England & Wales
Since 1996, for all tort issues in a case with a foreign element, the English and Welsh courts have had to apply the “choice of law” rules, sometimes leading to the substantive law of another country being applied to an action proceeding domestically. Pursuant to the Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995, the heads of recoverable loss, together with other substantive law concepts such as duty to mitigate and contributory fault, would be governed by the foreign applicable law. However, in the leading case of Harding v Wealands [2006] UKHL
