Guernsey Judgment 7/2000 - Holdright Insurance Company Limited v. Willis Corroon Management (Guernsey) Limited

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Prescription—running of time—suspension of prescription period—empêchement d'agir applicable as part of Guernsey coûtume—suspends prescription in favour of plaintiff suffering impediment making it practically impossible to commence or continue action—practical impossibility a matter of reasonableness—mere ignorance not sufficient—historic examples from customary texts unreliable guide to modern standards of reasonableness. Prescription—tort actions—empêchement d'agir—empêchement d'agir (defence that practically impossible to commence or continue proceedings sooner) applicable to tort claims subject to Law Reform (Tort) (Guernsey) Law 1979, as no express or inferential intention to abolish it, but intended to increase claimant protection—empêchement serves justice and desirable that apply similar prescription principles in contract and tort—though applicable, unlikely that empêchement provides extra-statutory protection in personal injury cases.