MBR Acres Ltd -v- Free the MBR Beagles

Judgment Cited authorities (16) Cited in (4) Precedent Map Related
JurisdictionEngland & Wales
JudgeMr Justice Nicklin
Judgment Date22 December 2022
Neutral Citation[2022] EWHC 3338 (KB)
Docket NumberCase No: QB-2021-003094
CourtKing's Bench Division
Categories
Between:
(1) MBR Acres Limited
(2) Demetris Markou (for and on behalf of the officers and employees of MBR Acres Ltd, and the officers and employees of third party suppliers and service providers to MBR Acres Ltd pursuant to CPR 19.6)
(3) B & K Universal Limited
(4) Susan Pressick (for and on behalf of the officers and employees of B & K Universal Ltd, and the officers and employees of third party suppliers and service providers to B & K Universal Ltd pursuant to CPR 19.6)
Claimants
and
(1) Free the MBR Beagles (formerly Stop Animal Cruelty Huntingdon) (an unincorporated association by its representative Mel Broughton on behalf of the members of Free the MBR Beagles who are protesting within the area marked in blue on the Plan attached at Annex 1 of the Claim Form and/or engaging in unlawful activities against the Claimants and/or trespassing on the First Claimant's Land at MBR Acres Ltd, Wyton, Huntingdon PE28 2DT and/or posting on social media images and details of the officers and employees of MBR Acres Ltd, and the officers and employees of third party suppliers and service providers to MBR Acres Ltd)
(2) Camp Beagle (an unincorporated association by its representative Bethany Mayflower on behalf of the members of Camp Beagle who are protesting within the area marked in blue on the Plan attached at Annex 1 of the Claim Form and/or engaging in unlawful activities against the Claimants and/or trespassing on the First Claimant's Land at MBR Acres Ltd, Wyton, Huntingdon PE28 2DT and/or posting on social media images and details of the officers and employees of MBR Acres Ltd, and the officers and employees of third party suppliers and service providers to MBR Acres Ltd)
(3) Mel Broughton
(4) Ronan Falsey
(5) Bethany Mayflower (also known as Bethany May and/or Alexandra Taylor)
(6) Scott Paterson
(7) Helen Durant
(8) Bernadette Green
(9) Sam Morley
(10) Person(s) Unknown (who are protesting within the area marked in blue on the Plan attached at Annex 1 of the Claim Form and/or engaging in unlawful activities against the Claimants and/or trespassing on the First Claimant's Land at MBR Acres Ltd, Wyton, Huntingdon PE28 2DT and/or posting on social media images and details of the officers and employees of MBR Acres Ltd, and the officers and employees of third party suppliers and service providers to MBR Acres Ltd)
(11) John Curtin
(12) Michael Maher (also known as John Thibeault)
(13) Sammi Laidlaw
(14) Pauline Hodson
(15) Person(s) Unknown (who are entering or remaining without the consent of the First Claimant on the land and in buildings outlined in red on the plan at Annex 1 of the Amended Claim Form, that land known as MBR Acres Ltd, Wyton, Huntingdon PE28 2DT)
(16) Person(s) Unknown (who are interfering with the rights of way enjoyed by the First Claimant over the access road on the land shown in purple at Annex 3 of the Amended Claim Form and enjoyed by the Second Claimant as an implied or express licensee of the First Claimant)
(17) Person(s) Unknown (who are obstructing vehicles of the Second Claimant entering or exiting the access road shown in purple Annex 3 of the Amended Claim Form and/or entering the First Claimant's land at MBR Acres Ltd, Wyton, Huntingdon PE28 2DT)
(18) Lou Marley (also known as Louise Yvonne Firth)
(19) Lucy Windler (also known as Lucy Lukins)
(20) Lisa Jaffray
(21) Joanne Shaw
(22) Amanda James
(23) Victoria Asplin
(24) Amandeep Singh
(25) Person Unknown 70
(26) Person Unknown 74
(28) Person(s) Unknown (who are, without the consent of the First Claimant, entering or remaining on land and in buildings outlined in red on the plans at Annex 1 to the Amended Claim Form, those being land and buildings owned by the First Claimant, at MBR Acres Ltd, Wyton, Huntingdon PE28 2DT)
(29) Person(s) Unknown (who are interfering, without lawful excuse, with the First Claimant's staff and Second Claimants' right to pass and repass with or without vehicles, materials and equipment along the Highway known as the B1090)
(30) Person(s) Unknown (who are obstructing vehicles exiting the First Claimant's land at MBR Acres Ltd, Wyton, Huntingdon PE28 2DT and accessing the Highway known as the B1090)
(31) Person(s) Unknown (who are protesting outside the premises of the First Claimant and/or against the First Claimant's lawful business activities and pursuing a course of conduct causing alarm and/or distress to the Second Claimant and/or the staff of the First Claimant for the purpose of convincing the Second Claimant and/or the staff of the First Claimant not to: (a) work for the First Claimant; and/or (b) provide services to the First Claimant; and/or (c) supply goods to the First Claimant; and/or (d) to stop the First Claimants' lawful business activities at MBR Acres Ltd, Wyton, Huntingdon PE28 2DT)
(32) Person(s) Unknown (who are photographing and/or videoing/recording the First Claimant's staff and members of the Second Claimant and/or their vehicles and vehicle registration numbers as they enter and exit and/or work on the First Claimant's land outlined in red at Annex 1 to the Amended Claim Form for the purpose of causing alarm and/or distress by threatening to use and/or in fact using the images and/or recordings to identify members of the Second Claimant, follow the Second Claimant or ascertain the home addresses of the Second Claimant for the purpose of convincing the Second Claimant not to: (a) work for the First Claimant; and/or (b) not to provide services to the First Claimant; and/or (c) not to supply goods to the First Claimant)
(33) Person(s) Unknown (who are, without the consent of the First Claimant, trespassing on the First Claimant's land by flying drones over the First Claimant's land and buildings outlined in red on the plans at Annex 1 to the Amended Claim Form, that being land and buildings owned by MBR Acres Ltd, Wyton, Huntingdon PE28 2DT)
Defendants

[2022] EWHC 3338 (KB)

Before:

THE HONOURABLE Mr Justice Nicklin

Case No: QB-2021-003094

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE

KING'S BENCH DIVISION

MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS LIST

Royal Courts of Justice

Strand, London, WC2A 2LL

Caroline Bolton and Natalie Pratt (instructed by Mills & Reeve LLP) for the Claimants

Cathryn McGahey KC (instructed by Cohen Cramer Solicitors) for the Fourth Defendant

Adam Tear (of Scott-Moncrieff & Associates Ltd) for the Fifth, Seventh, Eighth and Twenty-Second Defendants

Ashley Underwood KC and Adam Tear (instructed by Scott-Moncrieff & Associated Ltd) for the Sixth, Twelfth, Thirteenth and Twenty-Third Defendants

The Ninth, Eleventh, Fourteenth, Eighteenth, Twentieth, Twenty-First and Twenty-Fourth Defendants appeared in person

Ashley Underwood KC and Adam Tear (instructed by Scott-Moncrieff & Associated Ltd) for Gillian McGivern, an interested party

The Third, Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twenty-Third Defendants (and the “Persons Unknown” Defendants) did not attend and were not represented

The claim against the First and Second Defendants has been stayed

The claim against the Fifth and Nineteenth Defendants has been compromised

Hearing date: 25 July and 7 October 2022

Approved Judgment

This judgment was handed down by the Judge remotely by circulation to the parties and their representatives by email and by release to The National Archives. The date and time for hand-down is deemed to be 10:30am on 22 December 2022.

Mr Justice Nicklin The Honourable
1

This judgment deals with the Claimants' application to vary the interim injunction that was granted on 10 November 2021 (“the variation application”) (see Section B: [13.]–[17.] below). It also deals with a discrete point about whether Gillian McGivern has become a defendant to the proceedings (see Section F: [81.]–[88.] below).

A: Background

2

The general background to the litigation, and the reasons for granting the injunction are contained in the judgment handed down on that date ( [2021] EWHC 2996 (QB)) (“the Injunction Judgment”).

(1) Alternative service orders

3

On 12 August 2021, the Court granted permission for alternative service of the Claim Form on the “Persons Unknown” Defendants. The order provided:

“Pursuant to CPR Part 6.14, 6.15, 6.26 and 6.27 the Claimants have permission to serve the Tenth Defendant, Persons Unknown, by the following alternative forms of service:

(1) Affixing copies (as opposed to originals) of the Claim Form, the Injunction Application Notice, draft Injunction Order and this Order permitting alternative service, in a transparent envelope on the gates of the First and Third Claimants' Land and in a prominent position on the grass verge at the front of the First and Third Claimant's Land.

(2) The documents shall be accompanied by a cover letter in the form set out in Annexure 2 explaining to Persons Unknown that they can access copies of

(a) the Response Pack;

(b) evidence in support of the Alternative Service and Injunction Applications; and

(c) the skeleton argument and note of the hearing of the Alternative Service Application

at the dedicated share file website at: [Dropbox link provided]”

(3) The deemed date of service for the documents referred to in (1) to (3) above shall be two working days after service is completed in accordance with paragraphs (1) to (3) above.

4

The Defendants (including those in the category of “Persons Unknown”) were required to file an Acknowledgement of Service 14 days after the deemed date of service.

5

Similar orders have been made for service of the Claim Form by an alternative method on the additional categories of Persons Unknown Defendants as they have been added to the claim. Following the imposition of the exclusion zone by the interim injunction order of 10 November 2021, the location at which the relevant documents were to be displayed was moved to a noticeboard opposite the entrance of the Wyton Site.

(2) Initial hearings of the variation application

6

The variation application was originally listed to be heard on...

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4 cases
  • North Warwickshire Borough Council v David Baldwin
    • United Kingdom
    • King's Bench Division
    • 14 July 2023
    ...having an unintended effect or are leading to contempt applications for trivial infringements ( MBR Acres Ltd v Free the MBR Beagles, [2022] EWHC 3338 (KB), 2022 WL 17835649. There is nothing to suggest that this is the case 152 The interim order was expressed to “continue until the hearing......
  • (1) MBR Acres Ltd v John Curtin
    • United Kingdom
    • King's Bench Division
    • 19 February 2025
    ...(“the First Injunction Variation Judgment”); (5) [2022] EWHC 2072 (QB) (2 August 2022) (“the Second Contempt Judgment”); and (6) [2022] EWHC 3338 (KB) (22 December 2022) (“the Second Injunction Variation Judgment”). The background to this case — and the key procedural steps — are set out in......
  • MBR Acres Limited & Ors v John Curtin
    • United Kingdom
    • 19 February 2025
    ...(“the First Injunction Variation Judgment”); (5) [2022] EWHC 2072 (QB) (2 August 2022) (“the Second Contempt Judgment”); and (6) [2022] EWHC 3338 (KB) (22 December 2022) (“the Second Injunction Variation The background to this case – and the key procedural steps – are set out in these judgm......
  • Jacob Meagher v The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge
    • United Kingdom
    • King's Bench Division
    • 13 January 2025
    ... ... (in a similar way to the assessment of cost v benefit analysis undertaken by the Court in MBR Acres v Free the MBR Beagles [2022] EWHC 1677 (QB) : see paragraphs 28, 50 and 57). It is right that ... ...