In Fish & Fish Ltd v Sea Shepherd UK [2015] AC 1229, the Supreme Court clarified the criteria for establishing joint tortfeasorship. To hold a defendant jointly liable with a principal tortfeasor, it must be demonstrated that the defendant collaborated with the principal in executing, or ensuring the execution of, actions constituting the tort. This necessitates evidence that the defendant’s conduct advanced the commission of the tort and was undertaken pursuant to a shared plan to perform the acts constituting the tort. The defendant’s actions may or may not have been related to the tort being committed, depending on the particular facts of each case.
Supreme Court’s Findings: The Supreme Court clarified that for directors to be held personally liable as joint tortfeasors, it must be proven that they had knowledge of the essential elements constituting the tort. This means that in strict liability torts like trademark infringement, the directors had to be aware of the facts that made the company’s actions illegal. Without such knowledge, personal liability cannot be established by mere participation in the business’s operations or decision-making.
Implications for Joint Tortfeasorship: This ruling underscores that personal liability for company directors as joint tortfeasors requires a demonstrable awareness of the wrongful nature of the company’s actions. It is not enough for directors to be involved in the company’s activities; there must be evidence that they knew the actions were infringing. This ruling highlights the need to demonstrate the director’s awareness of the infringing behaviour and clarifies the threshold for establishing joint tortfeasorship in cases involving strict liability torts.
https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2024/17.html
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