Alex Reid Jailed for Lying in Personal Injury Claim

Alex Reid, former partner of Katie Price and cage fighter, has been found guilty of contempt of Court and has been sentenced to eight weeks’ imprisonment due to making false statements in a road traffic accident claim.

Mr Reid suffered a road traffic accident in 2018 and sought to make a personal injury claim valued at around £20,000. The Defendant was insured by AXA Insurance UK Plc who denied responsibility for the accident and the amount claimed by Mr Reid.

The claim was therefore issued in the County Court and Mr Reid’s representatives filed a witness statement at Court on his behalf.

Within the statement he commented that he had never met Mr Summers, the witness to the accident, before. He stated that the witness was into martial arts and the witness may have recognised him but he did not know the witness. At the bottom of the document he signed a statement of truth which confirmed “I believe that the facts stated within this witness statement are true”.

AXA Insurance then completed their investigations and they located an article on the East Anglian Daily Times dated the 25^th of September 2017, which was four months before the accident.

The article commented that Mr Reid would be giving an MMA masterclass  at Pipers Value Gymnastics Club in Ipswich on the 8^th of October 2017 to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the event had been organised by the world kickboxing champion Darren Summers (the witness in Mr Reid’s personal injury case).

Mr Summers commented within the article that Mr Reid had trained him for his first case fight and together they wanted to do something for the Trust. The news story  therefore clearly highlighted that Mr Reid and Mr Summers were not passing acquaintances at the time of the accident as his witness statement alleged.

AXA Insurance therefore sought to amend their defence to plead fundamental dishonesty which came into force via section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 and the Civil Procedure Rules 44.16. If upheld by the Court, the defence can lead a person’s claim being dismissed in its entirety if any element of the claim is found to be fundamentally dishonest.

The defence also provides an exception to the general rule that Claimants will not be liable for the other side’s fees if their claim is unsuccessful and therefore the Defendant could be entitled to seek their full costs from the Claimant if their defence is supported.

Shortly before the Court heard AXA’s application to amend its defence, Mr Reid discontinued his claim. However, AXA decided to pursue contempt of Court proceedings against Mr Reid.

Contempt of court is found where a person unfairly influences a court case, preventing a fair trial which can affect the trial’s outcome. A guilty plea carries a maximum of two years’ imprisonment, a fine or both.

During the trial, the judge, Eady J, commented that Mr Reid had made a “plain, deliberate and dishonest attempt to interfere with the administration of justice” and although his deceiving comments did not necessarily benefit him and they were not the most serious of false statements, the principle was much bigger than the case itself.

Eady J stated that “there is a real problem of insurers being seen as an ‘easy target’ by litigants who are prepared to try to secure financial advantage through deception, there being a false perception that such dishonest claims are essentially victimless crimes and that litigation is a game where presenting false evidence carries little risk.

Of course, none of that is true and there is a very real cost to honest insurance customers in terms of higher premiums that they face or because of the additional investigations that have to be undertaken when they make a genuine claim”.

Mr Reid was therefore found guilty of contempt of Court and he was sentenced to eight weeks’ imprisonment.

Although fundamental dishonesty and contempt of court are only found in a handful of cases across the personal injury sector, we would always encourage our clients and any witnesses to be open and honest throughout the entirety of all claims to prevent any risk to them.

It should be noted that these outcomes will only be found in cases where a person is deceptive about an element of their case or exaggerates a part of it and therefore there is no risk to genuine Claimants.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

Oakwood Solicitors Ltd has a wealth of expertise in handling claims for compensation for those who have suffered accidents that are not their fault. If you have any questions about your claim, get in touch today for a free initial consultation in complete confidence.

Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page, or call us on 0113 200 9787 to find out how we can help you.

Sources:

Axa Insurance UK Plc v Reid (Rev 1) [2021] EWHC 993 (QB) (21 April 2021) (bailii.org)

Court jails cage fighter for lying about knowing key witness | News | Law Gazette

What is fundamental dishonesty? | Legal Guidance | LexisNexis

Contempt of court – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)