R (Coughlan) v North and East Devon HA

The case of R (Coughlan) v North and East Devon Health Authority [2001] QB 213 is a landmark decision in English administrative law concerning the concept of legitimate expectation. It clarified the circumstances in which a public body can be held to a promise or representation it has made, even if that promise is not legally binding in contract.

The facts of the case involved Pamela Coughlan, a severely disabled woman who had been promised by the North and East Devon Health Authority that she could live at Mardon House for the rest of her life. This promise was made after the health authority closed a smaller facility where she had previously resided. The Health Authority later decided to close Mardon House as well. Coughlan sought judicial review of this decision.

The Court of Appeal, led by Lord Woolf MR, identified three categories of legitimate expectation:

1. Expectations that fall within the ambit of procedural fairness. These expectations relate to the process by which a decision is made, such as the right to be consulted.

2. Expectations of a benefit which the public body has a discretion whether or not to grant. In these cases, the court will consider whether the decision-maker has exercised its discretion properly and fairly.

3. Expectations of a substantive benefit where the representation relied upon is clear, unambiguous and unqualified. In such cases, the court will only allow the public body to resile from its promise if it is shown that there is an overriding public interest to do so. This category places a higher burden on the public body to justify its departure from the promise.

In Coughlan’s case, the Court of Appeal held that her expectation fell into the third category, a substantive legitimate expectation. The promise made to her was clear, unambiguous, and unqualified. Therefore, the Health Authority could only resile from that promise if there was an overriding public interest which justified doing so. The court found that the Health Authority had failed to demonstrate such an overriding public interest, and consequently, their decision to close Mardon House and move Coughlan was unlawful.

The R (Coughlan) v North and East Devon Health Authority case is significant for establishing a robust test for challenging public body decisions based on legitimate expectation. It emphasizes the importance of good administration and the need for public bodies to act fairly and consistently in their dealings with citizens. The decision has been influential in subsequent judicial review cases concerning the doctrine of legitimate expectation.