Western Meats Ltd v National Ice and Cold Storage Company Ltd

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Mr. Justice Barrington
• Judgment Date: 01 January 1982
• Neutral Citation: 1981 WJSC-HC 2295
• Docket Number: 2782P./1978
• Court: High Court
• Date: 01 January 1982

1981 WJSC-HC 2295

THE HIGH COURT

2782P./1978

WESTERN MEATS LTD v. NATIONAL ICE

BETWEEN:

WESTERN MEATS LIMITED

Plaintiffs

and

NATIONAL ICE AND COLD STORAGE COMPANY LIMITED AND NORDIC COLD STORAGE LIMITED

Defendants

1 Judgment of Mr. Justice Barrington delivered the2 day of June 1981

2 The plaintiffs are a limited liability Company with a registered office at Bridge Street, Longford. They operate neat factories at Dromod, County Leitrim and at Charleville, County Cork.

3 The defendants are two limited liability Companies associated together and jointly trading under the name "Frigoscandia". Among their activities they maintain a cold storage freezing plant and depot at Midleton, County Cork.

4 In the year 1969 the plaintiffs had recently taken over a meat factory at Charleville, County Cork and had embarked on a policy which was greatly to expand the turnover and the work force in that factory. They were approached by the defendants who solicited their business, and offered them the facilities of the cold storage plant which the defendants operated at Midleton, County Cork. In September 1969 the defendants" representatives met with Mr. William Lyons, who is a Director of the plaintiff Company, and, followed up this meeting with a letter dated the 22nd September 1969 in which they stated:-

"Our group are the largest operators of public cold stores in Europe and from their years of experience have worked out the most efficient and economical way to store customers" products. We operate a total of 7 million cubic feet of controlled temperature storage in England, with stores at Stratford, London and Kings Lynn, Norfolk. Our store at Stratford, being adjacent to the Smithfield Market, handles a high tonnage of carcase meat, boneless beef and offals.

The Midleton store, which is the most modern cold store in Ireland, can offer you ......"

5 The letter then proceeds to describe the facilities which the Midleton store can provide.

6 These facilities, appeared to the plaintiffs to meet their business requirements and a mutually satisfactory business relationship commenced between the parties and continued for many years. On the 21st December 1973 the defendants" Mr. W.S. Stephen wrote a letter to the plaintiffs which concluded in the following terms:-

"Finally, I would like to take this opportunity of thanking you for your co-operation and the good business relationships that existed between our two companies in 1973. I look forward to these conditions continuing during 1974."

7 Unfortunately, the difficulties which gave rise to the present action arose during the year 1974. Among the meats which the plaintiffs deposited with the defendants for cold storage were various forms of pig meat including ham, bacon, pork and offals. The plaintiffs, in the course of the year, sold various forms of pig meat in the home market, and, through the Pigs and Bacon Commission, in the export market. They stored their surplus produce, with the defendants, in the confident expectation that they could withdraw this as and when required, and in particular, for the Christmas trade. Coming up to Christmas 1974 I am satisfied that the plaintiffs had stored with the defendants very considerable quantities of gammons and other forms of pig meat and that they attempted to withdraw these to meet the Christmas demand, but were unable to do so.

8 I am satisfied that the reason why the plaintiffs were unable to withdraw their meat from cold storage was that the defendants, during the year 1974, had accepted into cold storage more meat than they could cope with or keep track of. I am satisfied also, that in the weeks coming up to Christmas in 1974, the plaintiffs sought to withdraw all their meat from cold storage to meet the Christmas demand but they were unable to do so simply because the defendants could not locate it and deliver it to them. The situation was so chaotic that the plaintiffs, instead of stipulating various quantities of meat which they wished to withdraw, had to resort to the device of sending their lorry to the defendants" store and giving the lorry driver a blank order book and authorising him to give a receipt for such meat as he could obtain from the defendants. I am satisfied also, that the plaintiffs, being unable to withdraw their meat from cold storage, were forced in an effort to, meet their customers" demands, to buy in, and slaughter, pigs in order to make available to their customers, for the Christmas trade, gammons which were .in fact in cold storage and ought to have been readily available to the plaintiffs. I am quite satisfied that the reason why they were not so available, and could not be found, was that the defendants had, during the .year 1974, taken into cold storage more meat than they could efficiently cope with or trace.

9 Under these circumstances it appears to me that, prima facie, the defendants, as bailees for reward, are liable for their failure to produce the plaintiffs" neat on demand and are also liable for consequential loss which befell the plaintiffs as a result of this failure.

10 To...