What is a reasonable amount to seek from a third party?

Page 1 The Local Legal Experts Dispute Resolution Update - May 2010 Recovering Losses from Third Parties What is reasonable? You are a defendant and you settle a claim with the claimant but a third party is also responsible. It is a principle of dispute... More

Page 1 The Local Legal Experts Dispute Resolution Update - May 2010 Recovering Losses from Third Parties What is reasonable? You are a defendant and you settle a claim with the claimant but a third party is also responsible. It is a principle of dispute resolution that you can recover your losses from third parties by joining the second defendant under Part 20 of the Civil Procedure Rules. Third parties can challenge a settlement that has been made on the ground that it was unreasonable but what does this mean? The issue has been explored in the recent case of Supershield Limited v Siemens Building Technologies FE Limited. The facts of the case are as follows: A contractor was brought in to construct some offices by a developer. Some of the work was sub-contracted out and subsequently sub-contracted again twice so that a chain existed in various parts of the work that needed to be completed. The case revolved around the second and third sub-contractors, Siemens and Supershield res Less