Pope & Pope v Allied Bakeries Limited

Ben Handy of our personal injury team was instructed by Horwich Farrelly Solicitors to represent the defendant at trial in this fundamental dishonesty case in Adrian Pope (1) Sarah Pope (2) v Allied Bakeries Limited (13/1016).

The claimants, a father and daughter, both claimed to have been hurt in an accident that occurred in June 2013. The defendant’s driver admitted that the collision happened and that it was his fault, but said that neither of the claimants was inside their vehicle at the time.

At trial before His Honour Judge Harington in Gloucester on 13th October 2016, both claimants were cross-examined on inconsistencies “too numerous to really list”. Of particular note was documentary and video evidence showing that the second claimant took part in a motor race within a month of the accident, at a time when she claimed she was so badly injured that she could not care for her young child. She had previously denied having any hobbies at the time, when documents showed that she was regularly competing in a motor racing league.

At the conclusion of her evidence, the second claimant admitted that her father was not in the vehicle at the time the accident happened. His Honour Judge Harington dismissed the claims without hearing evidence from the defendant, concluding that they were fundamentally dishonest. He called it “a depressing example of why our insurance premiums are higher than they need to be”.

He awarded the defendant their costs on the indemnity basis and removed the claimants’ costs protection, applying CPR rule 44.16 and the case of Gosling v Screwfix. The parties agreed that the claimants would pay the defendant the sum of £7,000 in costs.