A recent House of Lords' decision serves to blur the line
between the tests for disability-related and direct
discrimination.
In the recent case of Lewisham LBC v Malcolm
(2008), the House of Lords overturned the Court of
Appeal's decision in Clark v Novacold (1999),
which may make it much more difficult for employees to bring claims
for disability-related discrimination.
Facts
The case involved a schizophrenic tenant, Mr Malcolm, who sublet
his council-owned flat in breach of his tenancy agreement. The
landlord, Lewisham, said that he had lost his secure tenancy and
served a notice to quit and later sought an order for possession of
the flat.
Mr Malcolm argued that his actions related to his disability as
he would not have acted in the same way had he not suffered from
schizophrenia. Subsequently, he brought a claim against the council
alleging that they had discriminated against him under section 22
of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (the "DDA")
