The Centre for Law and History Research & The Centre for Private and Commercial Law invite you to a research seminar on 'Repositioning Donoghue v Stevenson in Legal History'. This seminar will feature guest speaker Dr Emily Gordon (UCL).

 “Repositioning Donoghue v Stevenson in legal history”

Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 is credited with having an unshackling effect on the law of negligence. The orthodox view is that the decision released tort from the restraining effect of contract law (that is, the privity rule was removed). This paper considers several cases from the 1910s and 1920s that are not widely known, because of selective law reporting during this period; the results in these cases reshape our understanding of the development of doctrine and reposition Donoghue v Stevenson in that narrative. Rather than a dramatic development, Donoghue appears to occupy a formalising role: bringing doctrine into line with practice.

To attend online, please sign up here to obtain a free online ticket. A Teams meeting ID and passcode will be disseminated to online atendees on the day.