Crehan case could be delayed
The landmark case of Bernie Crehan Vs Inntrepreneur could be further delayed because of spiralling costs and possible intervention by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
The case, which has been running for 13 years, is due to be heard in the House of Lords at the beginning of June and revolves around the terms of the tie imposed by Inntrepreneur in the late 1980s.
Mr Crehan claims the unfair terms made it impossible for his two pubs to compete, leading to a collapse of the business. Around 400 other former Inntrepreneur tenants have claims on hold, awaiting a final result in Mr Crehan's test case.
However, if Mr Crehan wins he is likely to receive only 70 to 80 per cent of the costs from Inntrepreneur leaving the fighting licensee with nothing.
The lawyers representing Mr Crehan are urging other claimants to assist the case by agreeing to contribute to the costs. All the claimants have received a letter from competition lawyer Rupert Croft asking for them to agree to contribute the higher of five per cent or £5,000 of their net damages. They will only be asked to pay up if and when they win their own case.
In an unusual move the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is looking to intervene in the case to make some issues on competition law.
The OFT has issued a petition to the House of Lords in order to make some arguments about the ruling. In particular it believes the court of appeal went too far when when it made its ruling on the European Commission.
