Cadbury v ADT appeal permission granted
Roger ter Haar KC and Ben Quiney have been acting for Cadbury in the TCC liability trial following a major fire at the Cadbury popcorn factory in Pontefract in 2005. The £100m+ recovery action involves interesting allegations relating to the installation and operation of a CO2 fire suppression system, the construction of the building, and the interaction between the contract and alleged contributory negligence. The case featured in The Lawyer as one of the Top 20 cases of 2011. Judgment was handed down in July 2011 (link) with a finding that Cadbury were successful on liability, but with a 75% discount for contributory negligence.
The Court of Appeal have granted Cadbury permission to appeal (link) the finding that it was open to the Judge to make a finding of contributory negligence given that the claim was pursued on the basis of non-negligent breaches of contract. The appeal is to be heard in July 2012. It is likely to revisit the decisions of Forsikringsaktieselskapet Vesta v Butcher [1986] 2 All ER 488 and Schering Agrochemical v Resibel [1992] CA Transcript.
