Peter Edwards and John Platts-Mills secure permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal in ABC v Huntercombe (No. 12) Ltd and & Ors.

Peter Edwards and John Platts-Mills, representing the Claimant (ABC), have successfully obtained permission to appeal from Lord Justice Singh in the case of ABC v Huntercombe (No. 12) Ltd and Ors [2025] EWHC 1000 (KB). The appeal will address a novel and significant point of law regarding the scope of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 ("TUPE") and the transfer of vicarious liability for historic torts.

The Background

The claim arises from historic wrongs suffered by the Claimant while an in-patient at a hospital previously owned by the First Defendant. The First Defendant subsequently sold its business to the Second Defendant, a transaction to which TUPE applied. The central legal issue is whether the vicarious liability for torts committed by the First Defendant’s employees against a third party (the patient) transferred to the new owner (the Second Defendant) under Regulation 4(2) of TUPE.

The High Court Decision

In the High Court judgment, HHJ Bird held that the alleged vicarious liability did not transfer to the Second Defendant. The High Court determined that the relevant liabilities were not "in connection with" the defaulting employees' contracts of employment.

The High Court accepted the argument of the transferee that vicarious liability—being a secondary, no-fault liability—did not possess the necessary "direct" connection to the employment contract required to trigger a transfer of liability under TUPE.

The Appeal

Singh LJ has now granted permission to appeal this decision to the Court of Appeal. The case is set to provide critical appellate guidance on whether the "connection" test under TUPE Regulation 4(2) is broad enough to capture vicarious liability for acts committed by transferring employees against third parties.

This appeal will be of significant interest to employment and commercial practitioners alike, as it addresses the boundaries of transferee liability and the protection of victims of historic wrongs in the context of business ownership transfers.