5.1 Liability for negligence
The common law treatment of clauses excluding liability for negligence was discussed in Section 3.1. Section 2(1) of UCTA 1977 states that an exclusion clause cannot be used to exclude or restrict business liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence. Section 1(1) (a) defines negligence as the breach of an obligation or duty ‘to take reasonable care or exercise reasonable skill’.
Section 2 of UCTA 1977 does not apply to a term in a ‘consumer contract’ nor to a ‘consumer notice’ within the meanings of these expressions in the CRA 2015, but it refers to the provisions governing the fairness of these terms or notices provided by the 2015 Act.
To exclude liability for any other loss or damage caused by negligence, the term would have to pass a ‘reasonableness’ test (s1(2)).
