Win in The Court of Appeal for SBC – Law on Police Liability in Non-Injury Negligence Cases Needs Settling

In the case of TRANSPORT ARENDONK v CHIEF CONSTABLE OF ESSEX, (Richard Barraclough QC representing international haulier Transport Arendonk, instructed by transport specialist lawyer Simon Clarke of Smith Bowyer Clarke) the Chief Constable of Essex has been refused permission to launch a second appeal in this action for negligence after an articulated lorry containing a valuable consignment was left unattended by police officers who had arrested the driver. Males LJ commented that  “This appears to be a novel case on its facts not precisely covered by existing authority. Even if the principles concerning the liability of the police in tort are established it is at least arguable that their application to the facts of this case should be determined in the light of clear factual findings at trial. Moreover depending on those findings it appears to be arguable that the police did create a situation where a lorry was left unattended at night in an area known to be vulnerable to thieves. Whether , if so, that is sufficient to render them liable in tort to the goods owner is a matter which should be determined on the basis of actual and not merely assumed facts” Thus following the loss of their appeal to the High Court, the Chief Constable of Essex appealed to the Court of Appeal again seeking to overturn the original Judge’s decision in this case. Thus the Court of Appeal too has refused the Chief Constable’s application, in part on the basis that the law on police liability in non-injury negligence cases needs settling. Simon Clarke, partner at Smith Bowyer Clarke, noted that here again SBC is at the forefront of legal precedent in road transport law and practice; the High Court decision in this case is now recognised as an important landmark development in police liability law. Smith Bowyer Clarke operates across Europe as the specialist ‘go-to’ law firm for European and domestic Road Transport law disputes.