PIRELLI IS STILL GOOD LAW

Abbott v Will Gannon & Smith Ltd [2005] EWCA Civ 198, 2 March 2005

In Abbott v Will Gannon & Smith Ltd [2005] EWCA Civ 198, 2 March 2005, the Court of Appeal held that the decision of the House of Lords in Pirelli General Cable Works Ltd v Oscar Faber & Partners [1983] 2 AC 1 was still good law and had not been overruled by the decision of the House of Lords in Murphy v Brentwood District Council [1991] 1 AC 398. It was therefore necessary to ascertain the date on which physical damage to the building became apparent in order to identify the date on which the cause of action accrued for the purposes of the claimant’s claim in the tort of negligence. On the facts it was held that the claim was not time-barred, whether the claim was one to recover in respect of physical damage or a claim to recover economic loss.