Courage in adversity

On May 25, 2010, Mr Justice Hickinbottom handed down a very important judgement (David Tomkins v Knowsley Primary Care Trust [2010] EWHC 1194 (QB) on fundamental principles concerning dental contracts.  In the first breach of contract claim to be determined in the High Court of Justice on issues concerning dispute resolution, remuneration, entire agreement clauses, and entitlement to payment, David Tomkins won his battle with the PCT.  He was awarded damages in the sum of £533,205, inclusive of interest, and costs.

On March 28, 2006, David Tomkins and the PCT had entered into a general dental services contract with an aggregate annual contract value of £437,960.  Of that figure £100K was attributable to another dental practice whose work David Tomkins had agreed to take on. In discussions leading to the signing of the GDS contract, the parties had been unable to agree a figure for the annual contract value, which was based on a dentist’s earnings during a ‘baseline period’ running from October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005.