swarb.co.

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swarb.co.uk

Smith and others v Cardiff

Corporation (No.1): CA 1954
dls 11 months ago

Four plaintiffs set out to represent 13,000 tenants,

and sought to challenge a proposed rent increase.
The scheme they sought to challenge provided for
different rents taking into consideration the
financial circumstances of individual tenants. Of
the tenants the rents of only 8,000 would be
increased.
Held: The plaintiffs did not meet the
requirements for a representative action,
because the class of corporation tenant did not
have a common interest or grievance and the
relief sought was not in its nature beneficial to all
members of the class which the plaintiffs claimed
to represent. Sir Raymond Evershed MR set out
the test under Order 16 r 9, ‘It must be shown . .
that all the members of the alleged class have a
common interest, that all have a common
grievance, and that the relief is in its nature