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On appeal from the Court of Appeal’s “ground breaking” decision in Edwards v Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2010] EWCA Civ 571, seven Justices of the Supreme Court considered joined appeals on the 22 and 23 June 2011 in Edwards v Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Ministry of Defence v Botham.
The case will determine whether a Claimant who suffers damage as a result of findings of personal or professional misconduct leading to dismissal and that were made against him or her in disciplinary proceedings conducted in breach of contract, but which would not otherwise have been made, can recover damages pursuant to ordinary contractual principles.
The Supreme Court considered principles arising out of House of Lords authorities Addis v Gramophone Co Ltd; Malik v BCCI; Johnson v Unisys; Skidmore v Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust; and Eastwood v Magnox Electric Plc and Court of Appeal decisions in Gunton v Richmond-Upon-Thames London Borough Council and Saeed v Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust.
The proceedings were televised live on ‘Supreme Court TV’ following the launch of the service on 16 May 2011. The outcome of the case will impact upon a number of pending claims by doctors against NHS Trust employers and in particular the value of such claims.
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