Clunge v Rentier
October 31 2022
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The Jolly Contrarian Law Reports
from the Contrarian’s Bench Division.
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Clunge v. Rentier [2022] JCLR 60
- Tort — Disclaimer — Financial Advice — Whether Disclaimer Disclaiming Personal Responsibility and Recommending Independent Advice applied to Itself
Motion to strike out proceedings brought by Sir Anthony Clunge, K.C., plaintiff, seeking damages in tort for negligent misstatement against Brandon “Chip” Rentier, defendant, relating to statements made on Social Media.
Dame Marjorie Wrigley, K.C. for the appellant
Sir Jerrold Baxter-Morley, K.C., for the respondent
Lord Justice Cocklecarrot M.R.: The information revolution has wrought transformations upon our society the like of which have not been seen since Thomas Savory invented the steam turbine in 1698. The internet has, as never before, vouchsafed the capacity to every man, woman and child, to publish to the world whatever pops into their heads. It has had ghastly consequences. Businesses rapidly emerged to take advantage of our natural craving for public approval. Mature professionals in positions of some responsibility cannot take the air without connexion to a device. A notable such “social media” business is Twitter, whereupon the exchange which begs our attention came about.
Mr Rentier is one of those rather workaday individuals that are peppered around the world wide web. They have unshakeable opinions on everything. Mr Rentier has launched knowledgeable micro-disquisitions over the years on all manner of topics: baseball, rocketry, the pros and cons of palm oil, protocols for royal funerals, epidemiology, land-based military strategy on the Russian steppe, the relationship between monetary policy and inflation, and Kanye West, but one of the most common has been investment strategy.
Mr Rentier’s investment tips have no more real-world qualification than do his views on the constitutionality of Rowe vs. Wade — he is neither lawyer not financial adviser — but he has periodically issued forth salvoes on stocks, bonds and commodities all the same.
His tweetstorm — I am told these are nowadays called “threads”— of October 17th is a case in point. Mr Rentier issued his “Seven Rules for sound investment🧵👇”
As it happens, Mr Rentier’s advice was fairly sound. We had expert evidence to that effect.