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29 July 2022 / Alexander Learmonth KC
Issue: 7989 / Categories: Features , Insurance / reinsurance , Charities
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Box office smash: aggregation dismissed

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Now that the dust has settled on Guide Dogs for the Blind v Box, Alexander Learmonth QC explains why it is good news for both consumers & solicitors
  • The Supreme Court has rejected the indemnity insurers’ appeal in Guide Dogs for the Blind v Box, after the Court of Appeal ruled that the insurers could not aggregate claims for compensation against a firm of solicitors following the theft of client funds over many years.
  • The decision confirms that insurers will not be able to limit their liability in circumstances where a solicitor has committed the same kind of infraction on a number of occasions.

Also known as Baines v Dixon Coles & Gill, last year’s Court of Appeal decision in Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and others v Box and others [2021] EWCA Civ 1211, [2022] 2 All ER 1032 generated considerable interest among solicitors generally, and the professional negligence and indemnity insurance community in particular. Now, the Supreme Court has dismissed the insurers’ application

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