CASE THREE
Page 15
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Judge drops directors’ disqualifications
FIVE DIRECTORS AT Goodman Hitchens have won an appeal to have their disqualification orders set aside.
In a written decision, Upper Tribunal Judge Mark Hinchliffe overturned the decision of Miles Dorrington, the deputy traffic commissioner (TC) for the South Eastern and Metropolitan traffic area, made in February when he disqualified all of the firm’s directors from holding an O-licence in any traffic area for a year.
The directors did not challenge the deputy TC’s decision to revoke the firm’s restricted O-licence for seven vehicles following an adverse maintenance investigation by Vosa in September 2011.
However, on appeal, they said the deputy TC knew “perfectly well” that a call-up letter sent to an address in Himley Road, Tooting, had not reached the operator, despite the fact that it was, technically, the last known correspondence address.
They added that the deputy TC had details of the correct address – the Goodman Hitchens registered office in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire.
The directors said that, as a result, they had not had a genuine opportunity to address the question of their culpability and make representations to the deputy TC about the effect of the disqualification on their business.
TC ‘was wrong’
The Upper Tribunal said it would not have been difficult for the deputy TC to send the call-up letter to the actual Goodman Hitchens address as it is a public limited company.