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Appeal bid refused over damage plot
BESPOKE tailor John Kingdom will not be allowed to appeal against his civil court defeat by Taxifast mogul John Preece in the UK – but will take the legal fight to Europe if necessary.
Mr Kingdom and co-defendant Phil Manning this week lodged an appeal against the High Court's decision that they had conspired to damage Taxifast's business.
However, His Honour Judge Mark Havelock-Allan refused them permission, saying any appeal would be 'devoid of merit'.
Defiant Mr Kingdom said he would now go to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.
"We have sensational new evidence," he told The Herald.
Mr Manning declined to comment.
But Mr Preece, who sued the pair and a third defendant, Dean Ruffles, said he was delighted the judge had denied Mr Kingdom and Mr Manning an appeal.
"We proved our case of conspiracy," Mr Preece said.
The tycoon said the men would now have to pay the £30,000 interim costs bill awarded against them by the end of this month, and Mr Kingdom would also have to cough up £1,000 awarded in damages after the judge ruled he had harassed Mr Preece.
"It's time to swallow the bitter pill," Mr Preece said. Key Cabs, which trades as Taxifast, and its chairman Mr Preece sued Mr Kingdom and former Taxifast employees Mr Manning and Mr Ruffles in the High Court in Bristol last month, a response to damaging allegations, spread in phone calls and newsletters, that both Taxifast and Mr Preece were beset by financial problems.
The slurs were shown in court to be groundless, but the court found they nevertheless damaged a potentially lucrative deal with events management firm Expotel which could have created 200 jobs in Plymouth.
In court, Mr Kingdom and Mr Manning were handed injunctions to stop them harassing Mr Preece or his firms.
Following the hearing, the pair asked the judge for permission to appeal, but have been refused.
Judge Havelock-Allan said the defendants bore 'a heavy burden' in seeking to persuade the Court of Appeal that his findings of fact were wrong.
"In my judgement there is no real prospect that they will discharge that burden," he said, and added: "Circumstantial evidence of a conspiracy was overwhelming."
Mr Kingdom and Mr Manning had admitted harassment claims, he said, and concluded: "I consider that any appeal would be devoid of merit."
Mr Kingdom, boss of Stitches Tailoring, now called Ray Floyd Menswear, and Mr Manning are still facing a potentially huge legal bill.
Judge Havelock-Allan has indicated that Taxifast's total costs claim of £77,000 is likely to be approved.
On top of that there will be a VAT bill, which could reach £11,000, and Taxifast is expected to claim accommodation and other expenses arising from the eight-day Bristol hearing, plus the costs of a damages hearing predicted to take place in April.
Mr Preece has already told The Herald he will seek £1million in damages.
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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin
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