Full Satisfaction or Final Settlement?

Heaton and Others v Axa Equity and Law Life Assurance Society plc and another (CA TLR 7 June)

Where a claimant has linked claims against two defendants and concludes a settlement agreement with one it is relevant to pursuing a claim against the other defendant whether the compromise was ‘in full satisfaction’ or in ‘final settlement’ of the claim. Jameson v Central Electricity Generating Board ([1999] 2 WLR 141) concerned the liability of two concurrent tortfeasors for the same harm. The House of Lords in Jameson was concerned with a settlement ‘in full satisfaction’, between the claimant and defendant A, and there was therefore no remaining loss from which the claimant could found a claim against defendant B.