The Illegality Defence - Not Always A Complete Bar To Recovery

In a recent judgment, the High Court has revisited the principle that a claimant cannot rely on its own illegal act to make a claim (the illegality defence). The illegality defence was discussed at length in the recent decision of the House of Lords in Stone & Rolls Ltd v Moore Stephens (to read our Law Now on the House of Lords' decision click here). The High Court applied the principles set down by the House of Lords in Stone & Rolls but also indicated that:

• A claim can still succeed if the alleged illegality is sufficiently remote to the claim being made; and

• It is possible for the illegality defence to apply to defeat a particular head of loss or portion of the quantum claimed but for the remainder of a claim to succeed.