Expanded Inquest Scope After Judicial Review

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Law Firm: Gatehouse Chambers
• Subject Matter: Insurance, Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Insurance Laws and Products, Trials & Appeals & Compensation, Personal Injury
• Author: Ms Emma Zeb
• Published date: 24 January 2023

R (on the application of Leeson) v His Majesty's Area Coroner for Manchester South [2023] EWHC 62

Paula Leeson was married to Donald McPherson. In 2017, whilst the couple were in holiday, she drowned in a relatively shallow swimming pool. Mr McPherson was prosecuted for Paula's murder based on the existence of blunt force injuries to her body that were identified at post-mortem. The prosecution also relied on the fact that Mr McPherson was the beneficiary of life and travel insurance policies to the tune of about '3.5 million upon Paula's death. After a submission of no case to answer by the Defence, the trial collapsed in 2021.

An inquest touching upon Paula's death was resumed after the collapsed criminal proceedings. A narrow issue- based scope was set, focussing predominantly on the events that occurred on the day that Paula died, as relevant to the question of 'how' she came by her death, pursuant to section 5(1) of the Coroner's and Justice Act 2009. The Coroner excluded the circumstantial evidence, including the insurance policy issue, from scope.

Paula's father Willy Leeson challenged the Coroner's decision as to scope on the basis that it was irrational and unlawful.

On Wednesday 18 January 2023, in a unanimous 3-judge court, led by Dingemans LJ and including the Chief Coroner, the High Court quashed the Coroner's ruling on scope. In doing so Dingemans LJ reiterated the fact that a Coroner must ensure that relevant facts are subjected to public scrutiny, particularly if there is evidence of foul play and that whilst scope is a matter within the Coroner's...