Cheltenham Borough Council v Laird
Encyclopedia
Cheltenham Borough Council v Laird [2009] EWHC 1253 QB is an English contract law
and UK labour law case concerning the right to seek damages for misrepresentation under the Misrepresentation Act 1967
. It attracted considerable media attention due to the sums claimed in compensation and the politically charged facts of the case.
. She was asked two questions in particular on her application form. The first was,
She said "no". She was then asked whether she enjoyed good health. She replied, "yes".
The Conservatives had hired Mrs Laird to follow through a restructuring plan, but the Liberal Democrats were elected to control the council later that year. Mrs Laird was unsympathetic to the newly empowered officials, who were critical of some aspects of restructuring. She was engaged in litigation with various elected councillors for harassment, and filed complaints, all of which were dismissed by the Courts with costs awarded against her. She even sought a restraining order against the Liberal leader, Andrew McKinlay, which was never actioned because the Courts refused to enforce it.
In 2005 Mrs Laird took early retirement on the grounds of being permanently unfit for work on mental health grounds while serious disciplinary proceedings were being pursued against her by a Government nominated Designated Independent Person. During almost three years of working for the Council, Mrs Laird had taken almost half the time off with mental health sickness. The early retirement cost the Council £450,000s and she received a lump sum of £135,000s and an index linked pension for life of £37,605.
It emerged that Mrs Laird had previous bouts of mental health problems with previous employers with whom she had disagreements. The council brought this action claiming that her failure to disclose a previous history of mental illness had caused them to incur over £1 million (including interest) worth of costs. Mrs Laird submitted a counter claim for some tens of millions of pounds that she maintained would not have been won for the Council had it not been for her.
Other
English contract law
English contract law is a body of law regulating contracts in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the industrial revolution, it shares a heritage with countries across the Commonwealth , and the United States...
and UK labour law case concerning the right to seek damages for misrepresentation under the Misrepresentation Act 1967
Misrepresentation Act 1967
Misrepresentation Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which regulates English contract law and unjust enrichment, so far as relevant for misrepresentations.-Section 1:-Section 2:...
. It attracted considerable media attention due to the sums claimed in compensation and the politically charged facts of the case.
Facts
In 2002 Mrs Christine Susan Laird applied to be Managing Director of Cheltenham Borough Council, which was controlled by the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. She was asked two questions in particular on her application form. The first was,
“Do you see yourself as disabled?”
She said "no". She was then asked whether she enjoyed good health. She replied, "yes".
The Conservatives had hired Mrs Laird to follow through a restructuring plan, but the Liberal Democrats were elected to control the council later that year. Mrs Laird was unsympathetic to the newly empowered officials, who were critical of some aspects of restructuring. She was engaged in litigation with various elected councillors for harassment, and filed complaints, all of which were dismissed by the Courts with costs awarded against her. She even sought a restraining order against the Liberal leader, Andrew McKinlay, which was never actioned because the Courts refused to enforce it.
In 2005 Mrs Laird took early retirement on the grounds of being permanently unfit for work on mental health grounds while serious disciplinary proceedings were being pursued against her by a Government nominated Designated Independent Person. During almost three years of working for the Council, Mrs Laird had taken almost half the time off with mental health sickness. The early retirement cost the Council £450,000s and she received a lump sum of £135,000s and an index linked pension for life of £37,605.
It emerged that Mrs Laird had previous bouts of mental health problems with previous employers with whom she had disagreements. The council brought this action claiming that her failure to disclose a previous history of mental illness had caused them to incur over £1 million (including interest) worth of costs. Mrs Laird submitted a counter claim for some tens of millions of pounds that she maintained would not have been won for the Council had it not been for her.
Judgment
Hamblen J held that there had been no actionable misrepresentation, and so the council lost. He dismissed all of Mrs Laird's counter-claim and subsequently ordered that the council pay a portion, but not all of Mrs Laird's costs.External links
Articles- Fran Yeoman, 'Cheltenham director Christine Laird sued for 'lying about illness (28.1.2009) The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
- Steven Morris, 'Council loses mental health claim against former chief executive' (15.6.2009) The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Andrew Pierce 'A local difficulty gets out of hand' (29.5.2004) The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
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