How Bakers Basco Limited use the law to protect its equipment and that of its Membership.

Transcription

1 How Bakers Basco Limited use the law to protect its equipment and that of its Membership. WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY? THE PROBLEM The Tort of Conversion: The legislation: Bakers Basco will commonly seeks quantified damages for conversion of both its and that of its memberships property pursuant to s.3 Torts (Interference with Goods) Act Where necessary in cases of repeated offenders an injunction will be sought to prevent the Defendant from utilising, storing, conveying or transporting the Defendant s produce in bread trays and equipment owned by the Claimant s membership. If it is apparent that the trays are actively being used Court proceedings are issued. Alternatively, in cases where trays have to be condemned due to the extent of their contamination, proceedings may be issued to recover the additional costs of purchasing replacement trays. It is imperative that the contaminated bread trays do not find their way back into the general bread distribution network. The public rightly demand that the bread they eat is subject to the strictest Food and Hygiene standards. The principle of conversion is described in Clerk & Lindsell on Torts, 19th edition at paragraph 17-09: Anyone who without authority receives or takes possession of another s goods with the intention of asserting some right or dominion over them, or deals with them in a manner inconsistent with the right of the true owner is prima facie guilty of conversion. In conjunction with its lawyers - Thackray Williams LLP Solicitors based in Bromley Kent, Bakers Basco have initiated over 250 Court actions seeking damages and have currently secured around 20 injunctions to protect its equipment. On a number of occasions a third party will breach an injunction-thus any director or owner of a party subject to that injunction may run the risk of committal proceedings for their contempt of court. Alternatively fines or punitive damages or other sanctions will be applied by the Courts in such cases. Historically Thackray Williams LLP (and their predecessors, Leigh Williams), issued around 750 actions on behalf of ABF Grain Products Limited trading as Allied Bakeries. Consequently its dedicated Debt Recovery team has built up a huge knowledge bank to assist the Bakery Industry with the unacceptable attrition of its equipment. View the Thackray Williams website link for the firm: and their debt recovery department : and-recovery Annually, Bakers Basco and its membership have bread trays and equipment to the value of several million pounds misappropriated and converted by third parties who have no contractual relationship with the bread manufacturers. Financially the scale of those losses can not be sustained. As a consequence Bakers Basco was incorporated to oversee a national programme of recovering the membership s trays. The trays and wheeled dollies are to be used solely for the conveyance of the respective membership s wrapped bread produce. What do other clients of the Thackray Williams Debt Recovery team say about them? View their link:

2 Why are injunctions necessary? Clerk & Lindsell on Torts, 19th edition suggests at paragraph that: Where an injunction is sought to restrain the continuation of a wrongful oct which interferes with the claimant s rights and is prohibitory in substance as well as form, then, in the absence of special circumstances, the claimant is entitled to his injunction as of course. Well every Picture tells a story (and why injunctions can be necessary for repeat offenders) We simply can not allow contaminated bread tray equipment, (misappropriated by unauthorised parties), to be unwittingly reintroduced into the national bread distribution network. The public rightly demand that our membership apply the strictest food hygiene criteria. We consequently adopt a zero tolerance policy. Steve Millward-Bakers Basco General Manager

3 JUDGES WHAT DO THEY SAY? lt seems to me that there is no justification for a butcher using bakers tray, and the sooner they acknowledge that the better. His Honour Judge Cockroft Halifax County Court It is all a bit disingenuous it seems to me. Clearly, bakers trays are for transporting bread and confectionary. Butchers must make other provision for themselves.. You seem to be getting deeper and deeper into litigation rather than making a clear division between what is appropriate for a baker and what is appropriate for a butcher. Anyone who without authority takes possession of another s goods with the intention of asserting some right of dominion over them is prima facie guilty of a conversion. In other words, anyone who deals with goods in a manner inconsistent with the right of the true owner is guilty of conversion... the fact that the defendant does not use what he keeps should be irrelevant. His Honour Judge Slim Halifax County Court District Judge Russell Ipswich County Court I find that there is a need, there is a need for an injunction to ensure compliance, and I make this decision because of the cumulative effect of other occasions in which the claimant has had to take action against the defendant. I fully understand why there should be proper cleaning of these trays when they are recovered, because the claimant consortium does not in fact know to what precise use the trays have put or exactly what they have contained. This is a food industry. Good hygiene regulations apply and all the rest of it, so they must clean them, clearly and properly as well. District Judge Darbyshire I am going to award punitive damages... and I am going to mark the displeasure of the court at having its own order breached, (this is a matter between the Court and the Defendent), by a fine. Had there been a more persistent breach and failure to immediately admit the matter, I would be looking at a much more severe penalty. His Honour Judge Million Willesden County Court 1 am not only satisfied on the balance of probabilities on each of these issues but beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant company is in breach of the injunction order. The Claimant seems to me to have a sensible scale of escalation where there is misuse of the trays; a Notice to Desist is given and warnings given before Court proceedings are commenced. In this case all of those have been ignored. Even after an injunction has been granted the defendant company persists in using trays, it well knows it should not use. District Judge Smith Dartford County Court

4 I am satisfied that Bakers Basco was acting as agents for its constituent members and had full authority to bring these proceedings on its behalf. Trays that may have contained fish or meat or some other foodstuff is capable of contaminating the basket. That is a very real danger and it is one which Bakers Basco Limited was formed in order to avoid. It is essential from the bakery point of view for hygiene purposes that the crates are not to be used for any other product. It does seem to me that there is a degree of persistence here which is sufficient to justify an injunction being made. Mr. Recorder Philips Bradford County Court In short the Claimants have come here to establish, as a matter, of law, that those who retain and convert their trays for the purpose of their own businesses will have not only to bear the costs of their recovery but the costs of their being cleaned by the Claimants, and the Claimant s appeal has been successful. His Honour Judge Wilson Mellor Q.C. Coventry County Court 1 take the view that if there were any number which had been gathering at the defendant s premises, they were obliged... to inform the claimant s or their representatives... so that they might be removed. What is perfectly plain is that for the defendants to use the trays in the course of their own business was indeed an improper use of property of the claimants and is conversion.

5 WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY? The law: The Theft Act 1968 View the Legislation: Section 1. Basic definition of theft. (1) A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it; and thief and steal shall be construed accordingly. (2) It is immaterial whether the appropriation is made with a view to gain, or is made for the thief s own benefit. That s the theory lesson, but what about in practise? TWO ex Warburtons employees and a former recycling boss were involved in a 500,000 stolen bread baskets scam, a court heard. The trio were yesterday jailed for a to tal of 10 and a half years. Burnley Crown Court was told how Paul Rogers, 34, then a delivery driver for the family owned company, and his then bakery boss, 29,000 a- year team manager, Robert Cooper, breached their bosses trust. They stole at least 60 lorry loads of baskets leased by Warburtons - 150,000 in total - and sold them to PM Plastics in Sudellside Street, Darwen. The pair had hatched the plot along with accomplice, father-of-three, Paul Matthews, the firm s owner, after Warburtons started recycling its bread baskets in November 2010 and a new universal basket was introduced by supplier Bakers Basco. They had denied conspiracy to steal from Bakers Basco during an earlier trial at Preston Crown Court. Each blamed the other for the thefts - but had been convicted by a jury. Bakers Basco noticed a shortage of baskets, in particular in the north west of England. Warburtons appeared to have 90,000 baskets unaccounted for. Prosecutor Nichol as Courtney told the court that between October 2011 and March 2012, almost 70 trips were made to PM Plastics on 39 days. After the theft was discovered, Bakers Basco ordered 150,000 new baskets and 4,000 dollies to replenish their stock. Mr Courtney said: The replacement cost for this came to 562,700. The court was told Matthews was arrested and officers seized more than 5,340 baskets, three tonnes of chipped plastic and nuts, bolts and wheels. Sentencing, Judge Simon Newell said: This was a deliberate, significant, organised and professional conspiracy. The Bradford Telegraph & Argus May 2014 Warburtons appeared to have 90,000 baskets unaccounted for. Prosecutor Nicholas Courtney told the court that between October 2011 and March 2012, almost 70 trips were made to PM Plastics on 39 days. After the theft was discovered, Bakers Basco ordered 150,000 new baskets and 4,000 dollies to replenish their stock. Mr Courtney said: The replacement cost for this came to 562,700. The court was told Matthews was arrested and officers seized more than 5,340 baskets, three tonnes of chipped plastic and nuts, bolts and wheels. The Bradford Telegraph & Argus May 2014