Cases

SD Marine Ltd v Powell

Held

Finding that there had been no offer of amends:

(1) There had not been an offer of amends within the meaning of the 1996 Act. Any reasonable onlooker would have recognised D’s lack of understanding of the offer of amends regime (which was not surprising as he was a lay person). C’s solicitor must have known that D was not intending to commit himself to any binding agreement, as he would have if he was making an offer of amends. The offer appeared only to relate to the heading of the first posting, and so did not relate to the “statement complained of” and therefore did not fall within s.2(4)(a). D’s insistence that the allegations were true and refusal to pay C’s costs were not consistent with his having made an offer of amends.

(2) That the offer did not state whether it was a qualified offer would not have prevented it from being an offer of amends. Parliament cannot have intended that every unqualified offer must state that it is not a qualified offer.

Also