BHAMRA V DUBB (T/A LUCKY CATERERS) [2010] EWCA CIV 13 (20 JANUARY 2010)
Caterer At Sikh Wedding Under Duty To Take Reasonable Care Not To Serve Dishes Containing Egg:The Court of Appeal dismissed the appellant caterer’s appeal against a decision that he was liable for personal injuries sustained by the deceased, who was allergic to egg and died from anaphylactic shock having eaten a dish containing egg at a Sikh wedding. The Court of Appeal held that the caterer was under a duty to take reasonable care not to serve dishes containing egg. It was reasonably foreseeable that some of the wedding guests might be allergic to egg and such guests were reasonably entitled to rely on the caterer to ensure that the food was free from egg. The nature of the occasion was sufficient to extend the ordinary duty of care to encompass such a duty on account of the requirement of the caterer that the food served at the wedding should not contain ingredients, the consumption of which was forbade by Sikhism (of which eggs were one). As it could be inferred from his evidence that the caterer knew that the dish in question may contain egg, he was therefore in breach of his duty of care.
SPECIFICATIONS
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2010/13.html