Appeal ref. B2/2014/1166

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL
ON APPEAL FROM THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
BRISTOL DISTRICT REGISTRY
BETWEEN:

KARL STEVENS
Claimant / Appellant

and

EQUITY SYNDICATE MANAGEMENT LIMITED
Defendant / Respondent

COUNSEL’S BRIEFING NOTE

1. This note has been prepared by Steven Turner, Counsel for the Respondent.

2. On 26th February 2015, the Court of Appeal handed down its decision in the case of Stevens v Equity Syndicate Management. The case had been listed as a test case with a view to clarifying the approach to be adopted by lower courts when dealing with credit hire rates issues.

3. It is no exaggeration to say that the result in Stevens will be a hammer blow to credit hire companies who, going forward, can expect to recover no more than the lowest reasonable rate charged by one of the main hire companies (e.g. National, Europcar, Thrifty, Alamo etc.) operating in the relevant geographical area. The recoverable rate may now be (as it turned out to be in Stevens) lower than even an average of local market rates.

Click here to see the rest of Counsel’s Note

Stevens v Equity Syndicate Judgment

Conlon v Royal Sun Alliance Judgment

Steven Turner, Counsel for the Respondent
Park Lane Plowden Chambers
19 Westgate
Leeds LS1 2RD
steven.turner@parklaneplowden.co.uk
26th February 2015