Overview

Earlier this month, the High Court held that, in principle, Safeway is entitled to recover from its employees and directors a fine it is to receive from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for breaches of the Competition Act 1998 that they caused Safeway to commit.

The public policy principle of ex turpi causa non oritur actio (ex turpi causa) essentially prevents an individual recovering a benefit from his own wrongdoing. Relevant to this case, it prohibits an individual, who has committed an illegal act, from seeking an indemnity from another individual for the penalties he has to pay.

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