Norwich City Council v Harvey
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Norwich City Council v Harvey [1] is a 1989 English law case on the waiver of liability in negligence.
After inviting tenders, the plaintiff, Norwich CC, engaged a contractor [2] to build an extension to their swimming pool complex.[3]
Clause 20A in the contract declared that the works were at the sole risk of Norwich CC, as regards loss or damage by fire; and that Norwich CC would arrange adequate insurance cover against those risks. Presumably Norwich CC wanted to ensure that the insurance was "in their own hands", and it also meant that the contractors could exclude insurance costings from their tender.
The contractor engaged a sub-contractor to carry out felting work on the new roof. An employee of the subcontractor used a blow-torch carelessly and set fire to both the existing buildings and the new extension, causing extensive damage. Norwich CC's insurer was reluctant to bear the cost of the loss, arguing that the negligent party should be liable instead.