Peter Carter-Ruck
English solicitor (1914-2003)
Peter Frederick Carter-Ruck (26 February 1914, 19 December 2003) was an English solicitor, specialising in libel cases. The firm he founded, Carter-Ruck, is still practising.
01Biography
Personal life
Carter-Ruck was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford. He spent three months in Germany during the 1930s, observing the rising popularity of Adolf Hitler and attending a rally in Freiburg. Upon his return, he trained and qualified as a solicitor.
His daughter Julie Scott-Bayfield also became a libel lawyer.
Career
He was senior partner, Oswald Hickson, Collier & Co (1945-1981) until he founded and was senior partner of his own eponymous firm, Peter Carter-Ruck and Partners (1981-1998). He was chairman, Law Society Law Reform Committee (1980-1983) and a fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies (1998-2003).
Carter-Ruck's first major case was defending the Bolton Evening News successfully against a libel action brought by the Labour MP Bessie Braddock, who, the paper had claimed, had danced a jig in Parliament.
In December 1995, Carter-Ruck acted for the royal nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke in the matter of an allegation by Diana, Princess of Wales, that Legge-Bourke had aborted a pregnancy in which Prince Charles was the father.
Criticism
In 1980, the Daily Express editor Derek Jameson was advised by Carter-Ruck that if he sued the BBC over their portrayal of him in a Week Ending sketch, he would win at least £25,000 in damages. The barrister in the case, David Eady QC, however advised Carter-Ruck to accept the BBC's offer to settle for £10 plus costs. Carter-Ruck did not disclose this advice to his client. The jury found the broadcast defamatory, but also fair comment and Jameson had to pay costs, receiving a bill for £41,342.50 from Carter-Ruck. Jameson learned by chance of the QC's advice and Carter-Ruck's former partner David Hooper said "Carter-Ruck told him a string of lies". Carter-Ruck later said he did not want to undermine Jameson's morale in court.
02Personal life
- A yachtsman, he owned a succession of boats which he christened Fair Judgment. He was a member of the Law Society Yacht Club, the Royal Ocean Racing Club, the Royal Yacht Squadron, and the Garrick.
- Carter-Ruck was the founder-governor of Shiplake College at Henley.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Peter Carter-Ruck”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- PCarterRuck.jpg by Unknown author, Fair use
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