Nield & Acromas Insurance Company Limited v Loveday &
Loveday [2011] EWHC 2324 (Admin)
A defendant has been given an immediate sentence of nine
months' imprisonment for contempt of court in signing
statements of truth on documents that he knew to contain untruths.
This is the first contested case of contempt over statements in
documents used in civil proceedings before the Divisional Court
(Queen's Bench Division). The claimants were able to show,
using evidence that included covert surveillance footage and photos
from Facebook, that the first defendant had grossly exaggerated his
claim for compensation following a traffic injury.
This case highlights the importance of ensuring that any statements
of case or witness statements are carefully reviewed by the person
who is signing the statement of truth and that they are aware of
the consequences of knowingly signing a statement of truth that
contains falsehoods. For further analysis, please click
here.
For a full copy of the judgment, please click here.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
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The original publication date for this article was 14/10/2011.