CIVIL LIABILITY (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1964

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE CIVIL LIABILITY ACT, 1961. [7th July, 1964.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1. Principal Act 1961, No. 41.

1.—In this Act “the Principal Act” means the Civil Liability Act, 1961.

2. Sums not to be taken into account in assessing damages (personal injury not causing death).

2.—In assessing damages in an action to recover damages in respect of a wrongful act (including a crime) resulting in personal injury not causing death, account shall not be taken of—

• (a) any sum payable in respect of the injury under any contract of insurance,

• (b) any pension, gratuity or other like benefit payable under statute or otherwise in consequence of the injury.

• F1[(2) In assessing damages in an action to recover damages in respect of a wrong resulting in personal injury not causing death, account shall not be taken of any charitable gift (whether in the form of money or other property) made to the plaintiff in respect of those injuries unless—

• (a) the defendant is the donor of the gift, and

• (b) (i) at the time of the making of the gift he or she informs the plaintiff in writing that, should the plaintiff recover damages in such an action, the defendant will apply to the court for the damages to be reduced by an amount equal to the amount of the gift or the value of the gift, as may be appropriate, or

• (ii) in the case of a plaintiff who is employed by the defendant, the gift consists of a series of payments that resemble, in amount and frequency, the normal remuneration that the plaintiff would be entitled to receive from the defendant in the course of his or her employment.]

3. Amendment of section 27 of Principal Act.

3.—Section 27 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition of the following subsection:

“ (5) A claim may be made or a notice may be served pursuant to subsection (1) of this section notwithstanding that the person making the claim or serving the notice denies or does not admit that he is a wrongdoer, and the making of the claim or serving of the notice shall not be taken as implying any admission of liability by him.”

4. Amendment of section 35 (2) of Principal Act.

4.—Subsection (2) of section 35 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of “, subject to paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section,” before “neither”.

5. Amendment of section 36 of Principal Act.

5.—Section 36 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition of the following subsection:

“ (5) Notwithstanding anything in section 62, where a claim is made against a person who is insured in respect of a liability alleged in that claim and the claim is not paid by the insurer by reason of its being set off in full against a sum owed to the insured by the person making such claim, the insured or any person representing or deriving title under him shall be entitled to recover from the insurers the amount of such claim.”

6. Repeals.

6.—The enactments mentioned in the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

7. Short title, construction and collective citation.

7.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Civil Liability (Amendment) Act, 1964.

• (2) The Principal Act and this Act shall be construed together as one Act and may be cited together as the Civil Liability Acts, 1961 and 1964.

SCHEDULE Enactments Repealed

Section 6.