Court of Appeal—substance triumphs over form in avoided loss appeal (Swynson v Lowick Rose)

Table of contents

• Key implications
• What was the background to the appeal?
• What did the Court of Appeal decide?
• Longmore LJ's leading judgment
• Sales LJ's concurring judgment
• Davis LJ's dissent
• Court and judgment details

Article summary

Dispute Resolution analysis: in a judgment dated 25 June 2015, the Court of Appeal dismissed (by a majority) an appeal concerning the level of damages recoverable by an innocent party where its loss was avoided not as a consequence of its own attempts to mitigate loss, but due to the intervention of a third party. The decision is of interest to practitioners as the Court of Appeal provides guidance on the approach the court should take to the assessment of the level of damages in such cases.