Obiter is used to being the puckish onlooker of the legal arena. So it was a pleasant surprise to see one’s thoughts on a favourite judgment last year making an appearance in court documents for the side that eventually went on to win.

Sherman & Anor v Reader Offers concerns an intrepid travelling couple, the Shermans, who booked a £20,000 trip-of-a-lifetime cruise. Alas, the trip did not go as planned due to sea ice. As the Honourable Mrs Justice Collins Rice observed: ‘The Shermans went to none of the places and saw none of the things they had most wanted to experience. It was a bitter disappointment.’

After winning their case, the Shermans were in the Court of Appeal last month representing themselves (again). In their skeleton, the Shermans included Obiter’s little aside on the case from March 2023 as an exhibit.

Although the written judgment has yet to be handed down, we have been reliably informed that the Shermans were successful (again). The cruise company’s appeal was dismissed by Sir Nicholas Underhill, Lady Asplin and Lord Males.

It was Obiter wot won it, m’lud!

Topics