The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of the complainants claim of compensation for damage to his property. This is because the matters raised have been considered in court.
The complaint
Mr X complains about how the Council handled his claim for compensation for damage to his property which he says was caused by the Council failing to deal with flooding on the highway. Mr X says the Council wasted money defending the case in court and ignored an instruction by the Judge to mediate. Mr X would like an apology for the damage to his property and to be refunded the costs of survey reports he paid for.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The courts have said that where someone has sought a remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, we cannot investigate. This is the case even if the appeal did not or could not provide a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X commenced court proceedings against the Council. The courts considered if the Council were liable for the damage to Mr X’s property and considered if the Council should reimburse Mr X for the survey reports he paid for. The law prevents us from investigating matter where someone has sought a remedy by way of proceedings in court, and for this reason I cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it concerns matters that have been considered in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman