CASE STUDY: the "Plebgate"scandal – Andrew
Mitchell v News Group Newspaper Ltd. (The Sun)
Claims are fairly simple to establish and can be categorized as
a breach of contract or a tortuous breach. Contractual breach is
fairly self-explanatory: there was a clause in the contract which
one party to the contract breached. The remedies are variable
depending on the clause or clauses breached. A tortuous breach
usually involves negligence and three core elements:
- there was a duty of care owed;
- the duty was breached; and
- a loss was caused to the injured party as a result of
the breach.
The Andrew Mitchell defamation case is a recent example where
professional negligence could potentially be argued. The court had
given directions for certain deadlines to be met. Directions can be
anything from a deadline by which time the parties must disclose
relevant documents, to a deadline ordering the respective parties
to file and serve witness statements. In this case, a
