Court of Appeal Considers Fairness of Judicial Process in Disability Discrimination Case
Public Law and Judicial Review, Local Government
When an assessor sits with a Judge hearing a claim that raises issues of disability discrimination, must the Judge share the assessor’s views with the parties before handing down judgment, and if so, how should that be done?
The Court of Appeal today hears argument on behalf of Mr Laidley, a man with a delusional disorder which leads him to bang, repeatedly and persistently, on his neighbour’s wall, driving his elderly and disabled neighbour to distraction.
The landlord, MHT, has tried to help the Defendant get help for his mental health problems, but he refuses to accept any assistance or offers of alternative accommodation, being under the delusion that he is the victim rather than the perpetrator. He complains that the trial Judge, HHJ Luba KC, did not give him chance to hear the assessor’s “evidence” before giving judgment evicting him from his home.
Catherine Rowlands represents the landlord.
