Scott v Inland Revenue

The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in Scott v Inland Revenue. The case straddles the border on whether it warrants a bulletin, but I have done so as it contains a small number of useful 'soundbites' on diverse points that advocates might want to quote in tribunals.

* disclosure: there is an ongoing duty of disclosure in tribunals (when standard disclosure is ordered). Thus the Inland Revenue ought to have disclosed to the Applicant that it changed its normal retirement date from 60 to 65 after he was dismissed, but before the remedies hearing (paras. 20-21);

* aggravated damages: aggravated damages are separate from awards for injury to feelings, and the two should not be amalgamated (paras. 34-35)

* costs: the fact that an Applicant drops some of his claims (he dropped the named individual Respondents) and failed on one other (an "inconsequential head of claim had failed") is not relevant to the decision whether to award costs. At most, it is relevant to the issue of how much should be awarded (para. 47)