The Appellant police officers appealed a Trial decision for an award of damages for false arrest and false imprisonment, as well as pre-judgment interest from the date of the incident to the date of Judgment. The Appellants argued that pre-judgment interest was inappropriate because Statements of Defence were not filed until four years after service of the Statement of Claim, and that there was another one year delay during which work was done by the parties to prepare the matter for Trial. The Appellants asserted that, given the number of litigants and lawyers involved, the delay in getting the matter to Trial was unavoidable. The Respondents objected to this ground of appeal because the issue of pre-judgment interest was not raised before the Trial Judge.

The Court of Appeal noted that Rule 14.70 provides that an Appeal is decided on the record before the Court appealed from. The Court of Appeal observed that the Trial Judge’s decision with respect to liability was amply supported by the evidence on the record, and that the Trial Judge’s assessment of general damages was supported by the circumstances of the case. Because there was no evidence before the Court of Appeal to support the Appellants’ position, the Court of Appeal declined to interfere with the Trial Judge’s discretionary decision with respect to pre-judgment interest. The Appeal was dismissed on all grounds.