Performance Cars Ltd v Abraham [1962] 1 QB 33 Court of Appeal

The appellant hit the claimant's car (a silver cloud Rolls Royce) as a result of his admitted breach of duty. Two weeks prior to this incident the Rolls Royce had been in a previous incident whereby another negligent driver had hit the car. As result of the previous incident the car required a re-spray. The claimant claimed £75 for the re-spray for the prior incident and obtained judgment by default. However, the claimant has never received the sum. The claimant sought to claim the £75 from the appellant. It was conceded that the claimant could not recover the same loss twice. The question for the court was which defendant should pay or whether they should be jointly liable.

Held:

The first defendant was responsible for the whole amount. The appellant was therefore absolved from all liability to pay.

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