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Schalk Willem Burger Lubbe (suing as administrator of the estate of Rachel Jacoba Lubbe) and 4 others (appellants) and Cape PLC (Respondent)

Country/Territory
United Kingdom
Type of court
National - higher court
Date
Jul 20, 2000
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
House of Lords
Judge
Lord Bingham of Cornhill
Lord Steyn
Lord Hoffmann
Lord Hope of Craighead
Lord Hobhouse of Woodborough
Reference number
(2000) 4 All ER 268
Language
English
Subject
Waste & hazardous substances, Legal questions
Keyword
Court/tribunal Legal proceedings/administrative proceedings Hazardous substances
Abstract
There were 3,000 plaintiffs. Each of them claimed damages in one of the 11 writs issued against the defendants between February 1997 and July 1999. All plaintiffs claimed damages for personal injuries (and in some cases death) suffered as the result of exposure to asbestos and related products in South Africa. The central issue was whether proceedings brought by the plaintiffs against the defendant should be tried in England or South Africa. The defendant sought a stay of the proceedings in England. The court refused to stay the proceedings. The court decided that in the interest of justice the matter should be tried in England. One judge stated, “I cannot conceive that this court would grant a stay in any case where adequate funding and legal representation of the plaintiff were judged to be necessary to the doing of justice and these were clearly shown to be unavailable in the foreign forum although shown to be available here.”
Full text
Nation.Deci._Vol_3=prelims.pdf
Available in
UNEP/UNDP/Dutch Government Joint Project on Environmental Law in Africa, Compendium of Judicial Decisions on Matters related to Environment, National Decisions, Volume III, Page 36