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Actio Personalis Moritur Cum Persona Amended
Actio Personalis Moritur Cum Persona Amended
persona
A personal right of action dies with the person. At
common law, if an injury were done either to the
person or property of another, for which damages only
cold be recovered in satisfaction, the action died with
the person to whom, or by whom the wrong was done.
• It terminates automatically on the death of
either claimant or defendant. From the early
medieval perspective the old rule made quite
a lot of sense. Common law was concerned
not so much with reaching a fair resolution of
each dispute as with preventing extra judicial
resolution through feud or vendetta. From
that perspective the death of one of the
parties constituted the end of the dispute.
• The principle was inflexibly applied and its
genesis is hidden in aniquity.
• It is neither based upon justice nor common
sense.
• Further at common law, no one can recover
damages for the death of another. This is
known as the rule in Baker v Bolton ( 1808) 1
Camp 493 “ In a Civil Court, the death of a
human being could not be complained of as
an injury ” meaning an actionable injury. A
husband, parent, or master cannot recover
damages in respect of instantaneous death of
wife, child or servant.
• If there is an interval between the wrongful act and
the death, damages may only be recovered for loss
of society or services upto to the time of death.
• In Baker’s case the plaintiff and his wife were
passengers on the top of a stage-coach belonging
to the defendants. Owing to the negligence of the
defendants the stage-coach was overturned and
the plaintiff badly injured and the wife died
because of the injuries.
• It was held that the plaintiff was entitled to
damages for the bruises sustained by him and
for the loss of the wife’s society only till the
moment of her death.
• But the rule in Baker’s case does not apply
where the cause of action is based upon the
breach of a contract.
Jackson v Watson&Sons ( 1909) 2 KB 193