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Temple Garden Chambers is a leading common law set based in London and The Hague.
With excellence from top to bottom Chambers provides a first class service in a number of different fields.
18/05/2016
Marcus Grant appeared for Aviva Insurance in obtaining permission to bring committal proceedings arising out of a car crash.
Marcus Grant (instructed by Laura Hardiman of Keoghs LLP) appeared for Aviva Insurance in committal proceedings in the Queen’s Bench Division for contempt of court in respect of signing a statement of truth on one or more documents in County Court proceedings that Aviva asserted the Respondent knew to be untrue. Aviva claimed that the named Respondent had lent his identity to front a claim when someone other than him was driving his car at the time of the accident; further that he advanced a claim for £1,026 in respect of 12 physiotherapy sessions he asserted he had received, substantiated by serving a discharge report from the physiotherapist who allegedly had treated him; Aviva asserted that he had not undergone the treatment and that the documents asserting otherwise were false. Finally, Aviva asserted that the Respondent advanced an account of the accident that he knew to be false in order to substantiate an unfounded claim for damages.
The Respondent appeared in person and denied all of the allegations. Without making any factual findings on the principal issues, Mr Justice Garnham found that Aviva had a strong prima facie case to establish the alleged contempt to the criminal standard of proof, that it was in the public interests that committal proceedings should proceed and that, notwithstanding that this was a low value fast track injury claim in the Doncaster County Court before the respondent discontinued his proceedings, it was proportionate that the claim be permitted to proceed. In making these findings the Judge applied the guidance in Barnes v. Seabrook, South Wales Fire & Rescue and Quinn Insurance v. Altintas.
