We`re all travelers. We might not be Dr Who or interstellar voyagers but we often go on business or pleasure from point A to point B and increasingly we use paid for public transport and not our owned, leased or hired cars, vans or bicycles. As travelers we have become inured to strikes and delays when traveling on roads, trains and aeroplanes. For some of us delays cause no more than inconvenience but for others the minutes, hours and occasionally days lost to causes outwith our control can have more serious consequences. And this is when we look to the companies involved to provide compensation for the consequences of their inability to provide the service(s) for which we, the customer, have paid. Consumer pressure on governments has led to the labyrinthine requirements of claiming recompense from rail and airline companies to be brought under some control and authority. Indeed some few years ago my first class ticket on an Edinburgh train to London on January 2nd was unusable owing to the service`s cancellation. The next train was so over occupied I sat on my case for much of the journey. However on the bright side I was pleasantly surprised to find a few days later that my fare had been refunded by Virgin Trains which leads me to an interesting case decided last week at the High Court. In summary a case brought against British Airways for compensation was thrown out owing to the motives of those who had financially backed the claimant. To quote the judge, "I would not allow the claim to go forward as a representative action because the dominant motive for it lies in the financial interests of its backers".
As a humble retired magistrate I find the judge`s reasoning bizarre. Many ex wives of Russian oligarchs and other very very wealthy men have employed lawyers on a no win no fee basis. Group actions in other matters have been undertaken on the basis of a winning legal firm taking a pre agreed share of a compensation award. Perhaps this one will be next heard of if or when it`s taken to the Court of Appeal or even Supreme Court.
As I`m soon away for a couple of weeks hoping to enjoy limited solar radiation and an excessive calorific intake this site will not be updated with my meandering comments on matters quasi legal until the latter days of September unless of course I`m delayed by an airline strike or perhaps erupting volcanoes over Iceland
No comments:
Post a Comment