'House of Fraser Appeal Opens
Page 45
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THE Court of Session in Edinburgh on Tuesday began hearing appeals by the British Railways Board and 22 hauliers against the Transport Tribunal's judgment in favour of the House of Fraser group. In April, 1962, the group applied to the Scottish Licensing Authority for a 40-vehicle B licence to enable furniture and household effects to be carried for associate and subsidiary companies over varying distances in Great Britain, After several hearings 32 vehicles were granted and an appeal against this decision was heard in July of last year, when House of Fraser objected to the competency of the objectors. The appeal was dismissed (The Commercial Motor, August 2, 1963).
The Court of Session was told that the main grounds of the present appeal were that the respondents produced no evidence from customers which would have informed the Licensing Authority of the nature and volume of work to be undertaken; that the evidence of the only ,witness was substantially contradicted by the certified revenue figures which were eventually produced; that no comparison of the suitability of existing services was attempted by the respondents, who admitted that they had never considered availing themselves of such services; that the respondents• failed to prove that existing facilities were not adequate; that the respondents did not establish a prima facie case; that the failure of the respondents to produce evidence of the value and volume of the good& to be carried, or of the districts to be serviced, prevented the appellants from leading any evidence of the availability of existing services; that the appellants suffered prejudice in respect that the Licensing Authority virtually decided the case before giving the appellants any opportunity of cross-examining the respondents' witnesses or making final submissions of the revenue figures produced as was evidenced by a letter from the Licensing Authority in which he made clear his intention of making a grant to the respondents similar to that actually made.
The respondents deny the appeal.
Lord President Clyde heard submissions regarding Tribunal appeal procedure and agreed that there seemed to be no stated procedure whereby the matter could be returned to the Tribunal for a stated case, "This seems the only form of appeal that is open to you ", Lord
Clyde said. The principal submission was that House of Fraser could have achieved the desired economies by using Section 180 of the 1960 Road Traffic Act. There has been no proper evidence to support an application of the type made.