£312 Damages Award to B.R.S. Quashed on Appeal
Page 83
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THE owners of a car park at London
Colney, Herts, successfully appealed, last week, against having to pay damages to B.R.S. (Contracts), Ltd., following the theft of cigarettes from a B.R.S. vehicle parked overnight on their land. The Colney Motor Engineering Co., Ltd., had been ordered by Mr. Justice Gorman to pay B.R.S. the value of the cigarettes, £312 Cs., but his ruling was quashed by the Court of Appeal.
The lorry was loaded with cigarettes worth £32,000 at the time, and had been left overnight in the park for a fee of Is. 6d. Next morning the driver discovered six cartons were missing.
Giving judgment, Lord Denning said B.R.S. contended that the car park owners were entrusted with the custody of their lorry and its contents, whereas Colney Motor Engineering claimed that the vehicle was left "to get it off the road." Mr. Justice Gorman had upheld B.R.S.
Lord Denning disagreed with this, saying he had been much influenced by the fact that the parking fee was is. 6c1., regardless of the lorry's contents. There was no contract whatsover as to the contents of the 'lorry.
B.R.S. might have succeeded if there had been a duty or an implied duty that reasonable care should be taken. For instance, if the driver had made it clear to the petrol attendant that the vehicle was carrying a valuable cargo, the case would have been different.
Lords Justices Hodson and Ormerod agreed, and the appeal was allowed with costs.