Paul Bugden examines the various ways in which a claimant can recover in damages sums payable to third parties
One of the more difficult areas of damages arises where a claimant seeks to recover an indemnity in respect of sums paid or payable to third parties in respect of claims made against him which are said to arise out the defendant’s breach of contract with the claimant. Such claims can also of course arise in tort; in which case much the same considerations will apply.
In general, a claimant should be able to rely upon a judgment (English or foreign) or award without more, so as to establish the amount of his liability, leaving it to the defendant to show, if he can, that the claimant has failed to mitigate his loss or that the award is (in the relevant sense) unreasonable or perverse.
That is so even if it can later be shown that the competent tribunal made an error of fact or law and, unless the tribunal acted perversely or reached
