Calculating Damages in a Conspiracy to Defraud Case

[Bazzmundo]

Hi Forum Members,

It's my first post here, but I suspect it won't be my last as I'm trying to take several parties to court (on my own) under a common law conspiracy to defraud charge (in relation to an IP offence). In a nutshell, and I'd really appreciate some input on this, I've drafted a detailed Letter Before Claim and have calculated to the best of my ability the losses that I am trying to recover, which are substantial. There are three parties involved in the said conspiracy, but the question is: which of the three should I be seeking the damages from and does the LBC need to stipulate this? Party A took something of mine and passed it on to Party B (possibly without payment, or a nominal sum); Party B then sold it to be Party C (and is still getting paid for it); Party C has made the biggest share of the profit and is continuing to monetise it.

Any help/advise would be welcomed.

Thanks,
Barry

[echat11]

Hi Bazzmundo

I can't answer directly, but the following might help -

https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-la...gainst-insurer

Did you contact the police?

No doubt other members will advise.

[Bazzmundo]

Thanks Echat11.

I did make initial contact with the police, who put me on to Action Fraud (who, in turn, didn't investigate the matter when I first suspected it). But, having finished a thorough investigation that has taken me several years (including researching statutory and common law to understand the best way to bring about a civil case), I am now at the stage where I am about to move things up a gear. I will forward a copy of the LBC to Action Fraud at the same time as serving on the 3 parties involved, as am sure it can be proved beyond reasonable doubt (let alone in all likelihood) that they have acted unlawfully (in agreement) to deprive me of proprietary rights. The big unknown is: who should I be seeking the damages from?

Thanks for your reply!

[Bazzmundo]

repeated post.

[Bazzmundo]

Hi Bazzmundo

I can't answer directly, but the following might help -

https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-la...gainst-insurer

Did you contact the police?

No doubt other members will advise.

Posted reply above (not sure how, still getting used to the forum!). Thanks Echat!!

[R0b]

Are you bringing a criminal case or a civil one?

Either way, do you know what you're doing? The consequences of losing your claim could be costly on yourself, especially given the fact that you don't even know who to claim damages from.

[Bazzmundo]

Are you bringing a criminal case or a civil one?

Either way, do you know what you're doing? The consequences of losing your claim could be costly on yourself, especially given the fact that you don't even know who to claim damages from.

Civil (although I'd hope it will be picked criminally as well). Do I know what I am doing? That's debatable, but I simply can't afford the six figure sum it would have needed to have moved the case forward (it's a large one), and getting both a lawyer and a barrister to agree to work on a CFA basis would be extremely difficult (due to the time they would have needed to put into the case). I am quite well-educated and do have support from within academia about the basis of my claim and can clearly demonstrate that I've been the victim of a fraud. The only thing I need to figure out (at this stage) is who is responsible for damages when multiple parties have been involved in the said conspiracy.

Thanks!

[echat11]

A, B and C are all involved in criminal activity (theft etc).

A hasn't gained financially,
B might have gained financially, but to a very minor extent,
C has gained the most and is still making money.

[R0b]

Civil (although I'd hope it will be picked criminally as well). Do I know what I am doing? That's debatable, but I simply can't afford the six figure sum it would have needed to have moved the case forward (it's a large one), and getting both a lawyer and a barrister to agree to work on a CFA basis would be extremely difficult (due to the time they would have needed to put into the case). I am quite well-educated and do have support from within academia about the basis of my claim and can clearly demonstrate that I've been the victim of a fraud. The only thing I need to figure out (at this stage) is who is responsible for damages when multiple parties have been involved in the said conspiracy.

Thanks!

Well if you are looking to go down the civil route, conspiracy to commit defraud is a common law criminal offence, not a civil action. The closest you'll find to that as a civil action is the tort of deceit. Anything fraud related can be notoriously complex and is not a case of simply submitting a claim as it needs to be properly pleaded in a particular way otherwise the court will throw it out. If you are claiming a six figure plus amount as damages, then it will end up in the High Court which is where the big boys play, and there are specific procedural rules you will need to familiarise yourself with. If I were you, I would not be embarking on any kind of fraud claim without at least getting some proper legal advice as to the merits of your case.

The other point I wanted to make was, if this is an IP issue then why are you not considering a claim for IP infringement? IP claims are still complex but it makes sense to bring this type of action rather than fraud, which the bar for proving your case is already high.

In either case, some good initial advice would go a long way, however well educated you may be as even lawyers and barristers alike still get things wrong in terms or procedure.

[Bazzmundo]

Well if you are looking to go down the civil route, conspiracy to commit defraud is a common law criminal offence, not a civil action. The closest you'll find to that as a civil action is the tort of deceit. Anything fraud related can be notoriously complex and is not a case of simply submitting a claim as it needs to be properly pleaded in a particular way otherwise the court will throw it out. If you are claiming a six figure plus amount as damages, then it will end up in the High Court which is where the big boys play, and there are specific procedural rules you will need to familiarise yourself with. If I were you, I would not be embarking on any kind of fraud claim without at least getting some proper legal advice as to the merits of your case.

The other point I wanted to make was, if this is an IP issue then why are you not considering a claim for IP infringement? IP claims are still complex but it makes sense to bring this type of action rather than fraud, which the bar for proving your case is already high.

In either case, some good initial advice would go a long way, however well educated you may be as even lawyers and barristers alike still get things wrong in terms or procedure.

Many thanks for the reply, Rob.

I did have had some initial legal advice on the IP side of the claim, but the major issues we had in proceeding were my reluctance to do things quietly (i.e. I want accreditation and not just money), as well as demonstrating the opportunity to copy element, which is an essential part of the case. Since that time, and after investigation that has taken several years, I've come into a raft of evidence that clearly demonstrates the opportunity to copy existed. I still need to prove the latter to the courts, which is where the conspiracy comes in: A, B and C have all acted in agreement and made false representations about the fact that A&B knew each other and had done for years (therefore establishing a direct link between my IP and the infringing work); B and C have both, subsequently, acted in agreement and made false representations about how the infringing work was created.

I noted that Attorney General advised that a Conspiracy to Defraud charge could specifically be bought in IP cases, such as the one I'm fighting, and have also noted that there are multiple relevant torts that could be applied to this case, such as: tort of conspiracy to injure by unlawful means; tort of deceit; and breach of trust / fiduciary duty. Each of these is referenced in the LBC.

It IS an incredibly complex case, and of course I wish I had the funds to pay a top barrister to do the work for me. But at this stage, even though such a barrister has said he would take the case on, I simply don't have anywhere near the funds available to pay him (and maybe I never will). Hence, I need to seek justice on my own.

Going back to the original question, I guess all I can do at this stage is indicate the total amount of damages I am looking for and justify why, on the LBC, and indicate that I would expect each party to contribute to paying them in accordance with how much they have each profited (and give a breakdown of how I came to the decision). If this does end in front of a judge and I win the case (which I am certain I should do, given the support and evidence I have), then surely he or she will recognise that I've tried to be fair and logical when setting out the damages.