Spence v Wilson
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judgment Date | 22 January 1998 |
| Docket Number | No 44 |
| Date | 22 January 1998 |
| Court | Court of Session (Outer House) |
OUTER HOUSE
Lord Eassie
ReparationDamagesInterestLoss of earningsWhether State benefits deductible from loss of earnings before calculating interest thereonWhether benefits repayable to Secretary of State deductible from interest on loss of earningsSocial Security Administration Act 1992 (cap5), secs 81 (5) and 103Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 (cap 27), secs 8 and 17 and sched 21
Section 103 of the Social Security Adminstration Act 1992 provides,inter alia, that when assessing the interest payable on a damages award, that sum shall be reduced by the amount of the relevant benefits received by the pursuer. The Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 repealed sec 103 of the 1992 Act and by sec 17 enacted that in assessing damages for an accident, the amount of any listed benefits paid or likely to be paid to the pursuer is to be disregarded. Section 8 provides that a defender may deduct from the compensation payable to the pursuer so much of the listed benefits which he has to repay to the Secretary of State, as are attributable to the heads of compensation specified in col 1 of sched 2 which includes (para 1) compensation for earnings lost during the relevant period.
In an action for reparation for personal injuries the pursuer was after proof awarded damages including 6,136 for loss of earnings. The pursuer had received certain State benefits listed in col 2 of sched 2 to the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997, in respect of his injuries. The defenders moved the court, in calculating the interest payable on the damages for loss of earnings, to deduct the total value of the listed benefits received by the pursuer. The pursuer opposed the motion on the ground that deduction of benefits prior to calculating interest was no longer authorised by statute.
Held (1) that sec 103 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 was not simply a restatement of then prevailing principle and practice but was an innovation thereon and its repeal by the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 implied a legislative intention that the receipt of relevant benefits be disregarded in the assessment of interest on the primary loss of earnings as well as in the assessment of that primary sum itself; and (2) that interest on the primary loss of earnings was embraced in the notion of compensation for earnings lost during the relevant period and fell to be included in the amount against which the defender...
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Wisely v John Fulton (Plumbers) Ltd; Wadey v Surrey County Council
...difference between the sum awarded as damages for past wage loss and the amount of the benefits received during the relevant period. In Spence v. Wilson, 1998 S.C. 433, Lord Eassie held that interest should be awarded on the whole of the sum awarded as damages for past wage loss. The Lord ......
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Farstad Supply As V. Enviroco Limited
...The court should fix the rate of interest to compensate for the loss of income which the money might have generated: Spence v Wilson 1998 SC 433, Wisely v John Fulton (Plumbers) Ltd 2000 SC (HL) 95. The problem in recent years had been that the judicial rate of interest was not compensatory......