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Law Cases
Tort Law Cases
Defences-Illegality Cases

Lane v Holloway [1968] 1 QB 379

Country:
United Kingdom
By Oxbridge Law Team
Lord Denning MR

  • Plaintiff challenged Defendant to a fight and hit Defendant lightly, before Plaintiff hit Plaintiff severely, causing Plaintiff serious injury, for which Plaintiff sued.

  • CA held that since Plaintiff had struck a blow out of all proportion, the defences of “ex turpi causa” and “volenti” do not apply. 

Lord Denning MR

Even if the fight started by being unlawful, I think that one of them can sue the other for damages for a subsequent injury if it was inflicted by a weapon or savage blow out of all proportion to the occasion.

I agree that in an ordinary fight with fists there is no cause of action to either of them for any injury suffered. The reason is that each of the participants in a fight voluntarily takes upon himself the risk of incidental injuries to himself. Volenti non fit injuria. But he does not take on himself the risk of a savage blow out of all proportion to the occasion.

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