ABSTRACT
Livingstone v Rawyards Coal was a tort case, a claim for trespass to goods, and thus applies not only to claims in contract (hence the citation at paragraph 8.2 above), but also to tort cases.2
12.2 An important distinction between claims in contract and claims in tort is that claims in contract always arise out of a consensual relationship between the parties and the valuation of damages refl ects the parties’ expectations in respect of that relationship whilst in the case of claims in tort although some claims may arise out of a relationship between the parties, particularly claims for damages for economic loss, in many other cases the parties have no prior relationship or even knowledge of the other’s existence — for example a claimant injured by a collapsing wall might well have no prior knowledge of the existence or role of the architect whose negligent design led to the collapse of that wall.
