Riddell v Arcus Solutions

 The recent decision of Riddell v Arcus Solutions (Holdings) Ltd from the specialist All Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court serves as a timely reminder of why it is important to get comprehensive legal advice whenever considering any potential claim, and a refresher on one of the fundamentals of Scots Law: who has the right to bring court proceedings?

The Pursuer, John Riddell, was seeking compensation from the Defender, Arcus Solutions, in relation to an accident his wife was involved in prior to her death. Mrs Riddell had been injured in February 2018 when she tripped over a rolled up mat in her workplace that had been left behind by cleaners employed by the Defender. Unfortunately Mrs Riddell died of unrelated causes not long after the accident. She did not leave a Will, and so had not appointed any person to act on her behalf in administering her estate. Any person appointed to act on behalf of your estate is known as an executor.

Subsequently, her widow, Mr Riddell instructed solicitors to bring a claim on behalf of her estate. He was her next of kin and was therefore entitled to inherit from his wife’s estate which would include any compensation recovered for claims prior to her death.  The claim was intimated to the Defenders in July 2020, and liability was admitted in October of that year. Court proceedings were raised to in February 2021; in terms of Scots Law you only have three years from the date of injury to either settle any claim for damages or raise court proceedings to protect your right to claim compensation. Proceedings were therefore raised to prevent the case from running out of time 

In July 2021, the Pursuer’s solicitors enrolled a motion to pause the case for a period of three months, in order to allow the Pursuer to be appointed as executor of his wife’s estate.  Throughout this period the Defender was under the impression that Mr Riddell had already been appointed as executor. Upon learning that he had in fact not, they asked the court to dismiss the action, arguing that the Pursuer had no right to sue.

Title is a fundamental of any legal system; you must have a legal right to sue the other party. Actions can be dismissed and costs awarded against the Pursuer if they do not have a reason for suing the other party in the first place (i.e. “title”).  If you are injured, you would in most circumstances have a right to sue the party responsible for that injury in order to claim compensation. If you die, the person or persons appointed to administer your estate would have the right to pursue the claim on your behalf. But, as the court recently affirmed, a widow or next of kin does not automatically have that right even if they are the sole beneficiary of the deceased’s estate. They must be an executor appointed by a Will or by the Court when no Will exists.

In the above case, the Defender successfully argued that as Mr Riddell had not been appointed executor at the time when the court action was raised, he did not have title to sue. The Pursuer’s solicitors had argued that Mr Riddell’s title to sue was implicit as under the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964; as spouse, he was the de facto beneficiary and entitled as a matter of right to be appointed executor. It was accepted that he had not yet been appointed, but it was argued that this was only an administrative formality.

The court was not satisfied with this argument. While Mr Riddell may have been correct that he was entitled to be appointed as executor, he had not yet exercised this right. The failure to do so meant that no one had title to sue, as no one had the legal right to act on behalf of Mrs Riddell’s estate. As a result, the action was dismissed, and the Pursuer was required to pay the Defender’s judicial account. The action presumably won’t be raised again because the three year deadline for raising has now passed and so the Defender will escape liability and will not have to make any payment for any failures on their part even though liability was admitted. It is therefore essential to ensure that any Pursuer has formal “title” to sue before raising court proceedings.  

How we can help

This case highlights the need for thorough investigation of all of the facts of a case, not just how the injury happened. Our litigation solicitors endeavor to provide the best service possible to all of our clients, taking a holistic approach and working collaboratively with our colleagues in the private client team.

If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident, or suffered injury as a result of clinical negligence in the past three years, please contact our litigation department and one of our experienced solicitors will be able to assist you.