Substitution Of Plaintiffs

Introduction

In Waldron v Herring¹ the High Court set out when it would allow a non-party to proceedings to be joined as a plaintiff (whether as a co-plaintiff, in addition to the existing plaintiff, or as sole plaintiff, in substitution for the original plaintiff) on the foot of an assignment agreement. Such orders can be made only in specific circumstances, but the court was satisfied that this was one such case. In reaching its conclusion, and in considering the objections raised by the defendants, the court helpfully recited the law relevant to such applications.

Background

The plaintiff was the registered owner of a business premises adjacent to a busy public road. On two separate occasions, within months of each other, the building was struck by vehicles and damaged. The plaintiff sued various defendants, seeking to hold them jointly and severally liable for the damage caused to his building in both incidents. The court noted that this was the correct