Armstead (Appellant) v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company Ltd (Respondent)
Case ID: 2022/0100
Case summary
Issue
Where the hirer of a car contractually agrees to pay the car hire company a sum for loss of use if the hire car is damaged during the hire period, and the hire car is then damaged due to the negligent driving of a third party, can the hirer recover that contractual liability from the negligent driver (or their insurer)?
Facts
Lorna Armstead ('LA') hired a car from Helphire Ltd ('Helphire'). LA signed Helphire's standard hire contract, confirming that (a) she would pay Helphire for any damage to the vehicle and (b) she would pay Helphire a daily rate for any loss of use of the vehicle if it was unavailable to Helphire because it was damaged.
LA was in a car accident whilst driving the hired car. The accident was caused by the negligent driving of a third party who was insured by Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company Ltd ('RSA'). The hired car required repairs, for which LA paid. Helphire subsequently requested that LA pay £1,560 for the loss of use of the hired car while it was being repaired. LA brought a claim against RSA for both sums. In the three courts below, LA's claim for £1,560 sum was dismissed.
Judgment appealed
Parties
Appellant(s)
Lorna Armstead
Respondent(s)
Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Co Ltd
Appeal
Justices
Lord Briggs, Lord Leggatt, Lord Burrows, Lord Richards, Lady Simler
Hearing start date
23 November 2023
Hearing finish date
23 November 2023
| Watch hearing | ||
|---|---|---|
| 23 November 2023 | Morning session | Afternoon session |
Judgment details
Judgment date
14 February 2024
Neutral citation
[2024] UKSC 6
- Judgment (PDF)
- Press Summary (PDF)
- Judgment on The National Archives (HTML version)
- Press Summary on The National Archives (HTML version)
- Judgment on BAILII (HTML version)
| Watch Judgment summary | |
|---|---|
| 14 February 2024 | Judgment summary |