Lack of reasons

Baird v Thurrock Borough Council CA TLR 15 November

The county court judge awarded the claimant £7,500 damages for facial injuries from being struck by a wheelie bin while working as a dust cart loader. The Court of Appeal allowed the defendant’s appeal on the ground that the judgment had failed to address the issues, stating that although county court judges should be encouraged to give short judgments, it is nevertheless essential that they should grapple with conflicts in the evidence of witnesses and deal with the fundamental issues in sufficient detail so as to explain how they arrived at the decision. It was particularly regrettable that the judge had so intemperately interrupted counsel’s application to appeal on the ground that the judgment had failed to address the issues, which had given the judge the opportunity to remedy his error by providing adequate reasons. The tragedy was that the matter would now have to be remitted for a fresh hearing before a different judge. It is not possible for the Court of Appeal to decide the case on the transcript of the evidence. It was a small claim. The costs were huge. But in the absence of the parties’ agreement, it would have to be reheard.