James Atkin

James Richard Atkin, Baron Atkin, (28 November 1867 – 25 June 1944), known from 1913 to 1919 as Sir Richard Atkin and also called Dick Atkin, was an Australian-British barrister who served as a judge of the King's Bench division of the High Court of Justice, a justice of the Court of Appeal, and finally as a lord of appeal in ordinary from 1928 until his death in 1944. He is especially remembered as the judge who gave the leading judgement in the 1932 case Donoghue v Stevenson, which established the modern law of negligence in the UK and indirectly in most of the common law world.

Early life James Richard Atkin was born on 28 November 1867 to Robert Travers Atkin and Mary Elizabeth (née Ruck). Robert was from Kilgarriff, County Cork, Mary's father from Newington, Kent, and her mother from Merioneth, Wales. The couple married in 1864 and soon emigrated to Australia intending to take up sheep farming. However, little more than a year into their enterprise Robert was badly injured in a fall from a horse and the couple moved to Brisbane where Robert became a journalist and politician.

Atkin was born at Ellandale cottage, Tank Street, off North Quay, Brisbane,

Atkin attended Friars School, Bangor, and Christ College, Brecon, and won a demyship to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he read classics and literae humaniores, enjoying playing tennis in his leisure time. Atkin always thought of himself as a Welshman, and was President of the London Welsh Trust from 1938 to 1944. He eventually established a practice in commercial law, in particular in work on behalf of the London Stock Exchange, and became known as a subtle advocate with no need to rely on theatrical effects.

Judge Atkin was appointed as a judge of the King's Bench Division of the High Court of England and Wales in 1913, receiving a knighthood. Work at the King's Bench involved him in criminal cases, which had been outside his experience as an advocate, but he established a high reputation as a criminal judge. Reputedly, Atkin enjoyed his six years at the King's Bench more than any others of his legal career. The following nine at the Court of Appeal he enjoyed the least.

Atkin became a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1919. Atkin showed his disapproval of unjustified restriction on civil liberties by holding (obiter) that a person could sue for false imprisonment even under circumstances where he had been unaware of his imprisonment at the time. Again in 1920, in Everett v Griffiths, Atkin held that Everett was owed a duty of care by a Board of Guardians who had detained him as insane on inadequate grounds. However, Lord Justices Scrutton and Bankes held otherwise and their majority prevailed over Atkin's dissenting judgment.

From 1928 until his death he was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary under the title Baron Atkin of Aberdovey, in the County of Merioneth.

An Anglican, Atkin was strongly motivated by his Christian faith and relied on testing the law against the demands of common sense and the interests of the ordinary working man. He came to a settled view early on in hearing a case and, as a Law Lord, his colleagues often found him indefatigable in his opinions and difficult to persuade as to the merits of alternative views.

Personal life In 1888, Atkin was engaged to be married to Lucy Elizabeth (Lizzie) Hemmant (1867–1939), the daughter of William Hemmant, a friend of Atkin's father from Brisbane. She had been born within 12 days and within of Atkin's birthplace. William Hemmant later moved to London and was important in helping Atkin to establish his stock exchange contacts. Atkin and Lizzie Hemmant were married in 1893, after a five year engagement. Atkin's grandson, by his daughter Lucy Atkin, was the politician and business leader Toby Low, 1st Baron Aldington.

Atkin enjoyed the music hall and in particular the humour of George Robey and Marie Lloyd. He and his wife were fond of entertaining friends with musical evenings at their succession of town houses in Kensington. Atkin was President of the London Welsh Trust, which runs the London Welsh Centre, in Gray's Inn Road, from 1938 until 1944.

He died of bronchitis in Aberdyfi, where he was buried. Honorary degrees: University of Oxford (1931); University of Cambridge (1936); University of Reading (1938); and University of London (1939). It was arranged by the TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland and the Federal Court of Australia.

Cases

High Court Barron v Potter 3 KB 593, small company deadlock

Court of Appeal Balfour v Balfour 2 KB 571 Meering v Graham-White Aviation Co Ltd (1920) 122 LT 44 Everett v Griffiths 3 KB 163 Rose & Frank Co v JR Crompton & Bros Ltd 2 KB 261, intention to create legal relations in commerce R v Secretary of State for Home Affairs ex parte O'Brien 2 KB 361, internment of Irish Russian Commercial and Industrial Bank v Comptoir d'Estcompte de Mulhouse 2 KB 630, compensation for nationalisation by Russia of banks Rowland v Divall 2 KB 500, failure of consideration National Provincial Bank v Charnley 1 KB 431, meaning of a security interest Glassbrook Bros v Glamorgan County Council AC 270, dissenting in the Court of Appeal, liability of employer to pay for police protection Tournier v National Provincial and Union Bank of England 1 KB 461

House of Lords and Privy Council France v James Coombes & Co AC 496, definition of employee and inequality of bargaining power under section 8 of the Trade Boards Act 1909 Bell v Lever Brothers Ltd AC 161, common mistake Donoghue v Stevenson AC 562, negligence Maritime National Fish Ltd v Ocean Trawlers Ltd UKPC 1, frustration Woolmington v DPP UKHL 1, presumption of innocence Hillen and Pettigrew v ICI (Alkali) Ltd AC 65, causes of action, trespass, negligence Way v Latilla 3 All ER 759 Wilsons and Clyde Coal Ltd v English UKHL 2 Labour Conventions Reference AC 326, Canadian federalism Reference re Alberta Statutes UKPC 46, striking down Alberta laws on social credit Vita Food Products Inc v Unus Shipping Co Ltd UKPC 7 Nokes v Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries Ltd AC 1014, no transfer of employment contract without the employee's consent Southern Foundries (1926) Ltd v Shirlaw AC 701, implied terms United Australia Ltd v Barclays Bank Ltd AC 1, administrative law Fibrosa Spolka Akcyjna v Fairbairn Lawson Combe Barbour Ltd UKHL 4, frustration and failure of consideration Liversidge v Anderson AC 206