Jobs will go — court told
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A HAULAGE company employing 22 people will go out of business because of a £49,250 fine, it was claimed in the High Court last week.
Hennessey Transport of Mort Lane, Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, asked for leave to challenge the fine. Peter Birkett, counsel for the company, contended that the fine was "harsh and oppressive" because it would drive Hennessey into liquidation.
Refusing leave, Lord Justice Stephen Brown, sitting with Mr Justice McCullough and Mr Justice Mann, said the company had already appealed to Bolton Crown Court last March.
At that court the original fine of £69,700 imposed by Leigh magistrates last December (for 149 offences related to drivers exceeding the statutory hours they were allowed to be on the road under the 1968 Transport Act) was reduced to £49,250.
Lord Justice Brown said the company was now seeking to reopen its appeal in the Divisional Court — a move not allowed under court rules.