Harry Dunn court case to go ahead

Harry Dunn's family have had the way cleared to bring a civil claim for damages against his alleged killer in the United States, due to her "refusal" to return to the UK.

 

Mr Dunn was killed in a road crash in August 2019. Anne Sacoolas, who was involved in the crash in Northamptonshire, had applied to dismiss the case on the grounds that it should be heard in the UK, despite her legal team saying she would not agree to face a British criminal trial due to a "concern" she would not "receive fair treatment".

 

43-year-old Ms Sacoolas fled the UK after the State Department asserted diplomatic immunity on her behalf following the crash outside RAF Croughton. She was then charged with causing the teenager's death by dangerous driving but in January last year, an extradition request was rejected by the US Government.

 

Due to her "refusal" to return to the UK, the Dunn family brought a civil claim for damages as "a last resort". Now, a United States judge has dismissed Sacoolas's submissions that the UK was a "more convenient" forum, keeping the case in Virginia.

 

Judge Thomas Ellis also took into account the "firm support" of the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, who submitted a letter to the court, which read: "It is of course for the US courts to decide the issue of venue but for our part the British Government takes the view that British citizens can bring their case in whichever court they think appropriate. "I hope therefore [the Dunn family's] action in the United States is able to proceed."

 

The Dunn family's spokesman, Radd Seiger, has previously said that the family is "looking at a significant compensation claim that will be in the region of millions of dollars."  Mr Seiger said, "We are delighted to see that common sense has prevailed."

 

Reacting to the judgment Charlotte Charles, Mr Dunn's mother, said, "We are pleased and relieved at the court's decision."

 

 

Broadgate Legal

London Solicitors