News

Dishonest injury litigant committed to prison for contempt of Court
5 October 2011

Marcus Grant (instructed By Neil Southern of Keoghs LLP) appeared for the Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company and its insured in a committal action in the Divisional Court for contempt of court in respect of signing a statement of truth on one or more documents that the signatories knew to be untrue in such a way as likely to interfere with the course of justice. Mrs. Shah was an accountant who brought an exaggerated claim for damages in excess of £600,000. The exaggeration was dishonest. Her husband and 22-year-old daughter supported her dishonest claim. The Shah family admitted the contempt. Mrs. Shah was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment and her husband and daughter were each sentenced to 3 months in prison. They were also ordered to pay the costs of bringing the committal action.  Laws LJ and Simon J delivered a judgment explaining the sentence.

The Judgment can be found on Lawtel: Lane v. Shah 05/10/11