Motor vehicle insurance - Credit hire: the next instalment

(Clark v Tull, Dennard v Plant, Sen v Steelform Engineering Co Ltd, Lagden v O’Connor, Burdis v Livesey [2002] EWCA Civ 510, [2002] Lloyd’s Rep IR (forthcoming))

The validity of the legal assumptions upon which the credit hire business rests will in the next few months be resolved by the House of Lords. The outcome will be of huge significance for motor vehicle insurers as well as for the companies involved in the business itself. The stepping stone to the House of Lords is the ruling of the Court of Appeal in five joined cases, four decided by His Honour Judge Charles Harris QC Clark v Ardington, Denard v Plant, Sen v Steelform Engineering Co and Lagden v O’Connor [2002] Lloyd’s Rep IR 138 , and one decided by Gray J, Burdis v Livesey [2001] 1 WLR 1751. The ruling of Judge Harris was considered in the February 2002 issue of Insurance Law Monthly. As will be seen, the Court of Appeal has provided partial relief to the credit hire industry, at the expense of motor vehicle insurers.