A recent Court of Appeal decision has confirmed that staff costs can form part of a claim for damages. The decision is an important one for businesses involved in litigation and having to divert substantial staff and management time from their normal duties towards dealing with the consequences of a third-party breach of obligation.
The decision in Aerospace Publishing v Thames Water Utilities concerns a dispute over the damages recoverable by Aerospace Publishing following the flooding of their archives in 2001. Flooding occurred after the bursting of a mains water pipe for which Thames Water was responsible. Aerospace Publishing claimed not only for the losses they incurred in respect of lost and damaged archive material, but also for special damages in respect of work done by its staff in relation to and as a consequence of the flood.
