Adam Weitzman QC and Caroline Lody successfully defend Coventry City Council in the first failure to remove claim to be tried following the decision of the Supreme Court in N v Poole Borough Council.
Today Mrs Justice Lambert DBE handed down her judgment in DFX and others v Coventry City Council [2021] EWHC 13282 (QB). This was the first trial of a failure to remove claim in the High Court after the judgment of the Supreme Court in N v Poole Borough Council. Following a 10 day trial, the judge dismissed the claim. Applying the legal principles set out by Lord Reed in Poole Lambert J. found that the local authority social services department did not owe the claimants a duty of care. Despite this finding she went onto consider breach and causation. Preferring the evidence of the defendant’s social care expert, she rejected the claimants’ case on both.
Adam and Caroline have provided an article which provides a guide to the decision and analyses the findings made by the judge and their potential effect on future litigation in this field. You can read the article here.
The judgment can be viewed here.
Click here to view the recording of the webinar.
Please note: in podcasts, webinars and articles, barristers may express their own opinions. These will not necessarily be the opinions of other barristers within 7BR.
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