Harold Wildgust and Carrickowen Ltd v Bank of Ireland and Norwich Union Life Assurance Society
Irish Supreme Court case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harold Wildgust and Carrickowen Ltd v Bank of Ireland and Norwich Union Life Assurance [2006] IESC 19; [2006] 2 ILRM 28; [2006] 1 IR 570; [2007] 3 IR 39,[1] is an Irish Supreme Court case where the court imposed liability on the defendants, Norwich Union Life Assurance for a negligent misstatement made on its part in respect of the plaintiffs Harold Wildgust and Carrickowen Ltd. The Supreme Court outlined the "proximity test" which is to be used in cases involving negligent misstatement and held that duty of care concerning negligent misstatement is not confined to the persons to whom the misstatement is actually made.[2]
Harold Wildgust and Carrickowen Ltd v Bank of Ireland and Norwich Union Assurance | |
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Court | Supreme Court of Ireland |
Decided | 22 March 2006 |
Citation(s) | [2006] IESC 19; [2006] 2 ILRM 28; [2006] 1 IR 570; [2007] 3 IR 39 |
Transcript(s) | https://www.bailii.org/ie/cases/IESC/2006/S19.html |
Case history | |
Appealed from | High Court |
Appealed to | Supreme Court |
Court membership | |
Judges sitting | Denham J., Geoghegan J., Kearns J |
Case opinions | |
Ruled that a life insurer was liable to the plaintiff policyholder for informing a third party bank, which had a security assignment over the policy, that the premiums on the policy were paid up-to-date when in fact a payment had been missed. Even though the bank never advised the plaintiff of this conversation, so that he did not rely on it, the insurer was found liable to the plaintiff for the loss resulting from the lapse of the policy. | |
Decision by | Geoghegan J., Kearns J., |
Keywords | |
Misstatement, Negligence, Fraud, Insurance, Life Insurance |
Ultimately, the court decided misstatemnet caused a policy of insurance to lapse, with a corresponding financial loss being suffered by the policy holder and plaintiff, Mr Wildgust.