EXEMPLARY DAMAGES: REJECTION OF THE CAUSE OF ACTION TEST

Kuddus v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Constabulary [2001] 2 WLR 1789

The House of Lords in Kuddus v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Constabulary [2001] 2 WLR 1789 over-ruled the decision of the Court of Appeal in AB v South West Water Services Ltd [1993] QB 507 (on which see our February 1993 issue, pp.7–8) and, in doing so, rejected the requirement that, in order to be entitled to recover exemplary damages, the claimant must show that the claim was one in respect of a tort for which exemplary damages had been awarded prior to the decision of the House of Lords in Rookes v Barnard [1964] AC 1129. One consequence of this decision is likely to be a gradual expansion of the circumstances in which exemplary damages are awarded.