Matthew Hooper secures finding of fundamental dishonesty

Matthew Hooper secures finding of fundamental dishonesty and judgment on counterclaim on behalf of Allianz Insurance.

The Claimant brought claims for vehicle damage, credit hire charges and personal injuries allegedly sustained in a road traffic accident in 2021.

The veracity of the claim was disputed, with the Defendant relying on evidence to establish:

• the Claimant’s vehicle was already damaged as a result of an earlier accident;
• the Claimant’s engineering evidence inflated the value of the accident-related damage;
• the interim payment made by the Defendant in respect of the vehicle damage claim was dishonestly retained by the Claimant; the Claimant’s own insurer having repaired his vehicle at no cost to him; and
• the Claimant’s account of his alleged injury, treatment and recovery period was markedly inconsistent.

Following dismissal of the Claimant’s claim, DJ Ayers in the County Court at Bedford determined that the claim was fundamentally dishonest, entered Judgment on the counterclaim requiring the Claimant to repay the vehicle damage payment, ordered the Claimant’s solicitors to reimburse the Defendant in respect of a payment for portal costs made at the outset of the claim and ordered the Claimant to pay the Defendant’s costs of the action on an enforceable basis, assessed at over £17,000.

Many thanks to William Stobart at DWF for the instructions and assistance throughout the case.