Caroline Farrow has posted on Twitter that her solicitor has brought a claim against Surrey Police, specifically, “my solicitor who was submitting a claim for wrongful arrest against Surrey Police to get it in before the 3 month deadline under the Equality Act expired” (archive). That does not look right to your author, who went to a law school. So the question is, is it Caroline who is mistaken or her solicitor?
Caroline Farrow claims her solicitor has filed a claim in order to get it in by the 3 month deadline. Except there is no such thing. The deadline is actually six years for wrongful arrest, and 6 months for discrimination.
Quick law lesson: Wrongful Arrest is a tort. It has nothing to do with the Equality Act 2010. It is actually just a name for the tort of false imprisonment, the elements of which are (1) imprisoning the claimant and (2) absence of lawful authority. The time limit is six years save in the case of a claim for personal injury where it is three years.
Police can also be sued for discrimination in relation to an arrest. In this case, the arrest would be one of the elements of the claim (the ‘detriment’) suffered as a result of some protected characteristic, e.g. Catholicism. Such claims are actioned as a breach of statutory duty, also called statutory tort. Non-discrimination is a duty created by the Equality Act 2010. Under the Equality Act 2010, being arrested is a service provided by the state and therefore actionable under s29, which covers claims by members of the public against service providers. S29 claims are brought in the County Court and not the Employment Tribunal per s114. The time limit is six months per s118 (1) (a).
Donoghue Solicitors have a near-complete list of time limits here in case anyone doubts me.
Caroline’s replies are current full of, “yay! Go grrl!” and similar. Since what Caroline has written appears to be mistaken, I have written to her solicitors and asked them to clarify. I am curious as to what proceedings have actually been issued (if any), which solicitors are acting and what the head of claim is. Her solicitor at AI law Tom Ellis read my request for an explanation, but no response has been received. If I have made an error of law, they have not said what it is. If another firm is acting for Farrow in the police claim, they have not said who it is.
With a claim where there is a six year time limit and plenty of time left, it is customary and prudent to wait until the criminal investigation and police complaint investigation have completed so that the Practice Direction on Pre-action Conduct can be completed. Failing to do so may attract costs penalties. Where there is a shorter limitation period like six months for a discrimination claim, it is of course incumbent on police to get a move on within that period or proceedings may have to be issued protectively. It is very unusual to bring the claim at three months and can attract costs risks.
MHN hopes that Caroline’s cheering followers are not about to be disappointed.
There is a more serious issue here however, because Farrow is asking her followers for donations in support of her various legal defences and claims (archive). When asking for money, in my opinion the utmost transparency and clarity is warranted.
