Joyce v Tradex Insurance Company Limited [2012]
In the above case the High Court found against a Claimant on the basis of the legal maxim ex turpi causa non oritur actio (a cause of action cannot be founded on an illegal act). In an unusual set of circumstances the Claimant brought an action against his Uncle who was driving a van. Both the Claimant and his Uncle had been involved in stealing a ladder. Following the theft the Uncle had driven the van away with the Claimant stood on the back of the van, standing on the footplate, carrying the ladder and holding on to either the roof or the door whilst the other door was open and flapping about. The Defendant was found to have driven recklessly around a bend and at this point the Claimant lost his balance, fell off the van and onto the road. The Claimant brought an action against his Uncle claiming that it was his Uncle's negligent driving that caused him to sustain injury. The Court found against the Claimant on two points. One being on the basis of the above maxim, that is leading up to the accident the Claimant had been engaged in a criminal pursuit and the risk the Claimant took was inherent in the criminal enterprise. The Court found that the Defendant could not owe a duty of care to his own co-conspirator. The Claimant's own criminal activity therefore precluded him from successfully claiming. In addition the Court found against the Claimant on causation as they found that although the Defendant's reckless driving was partly to blame for the accident, just as much to blame were the actions of the Claimant in standing on the back of the van in the manner he did and to a large extent he was therefore the author of his own misfortune.
