Munton Bros. Ltd and Others v Secretary of State
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judgment Date | 01 January 1983 |
| Date | 01 January 1983 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
Company -Corporate Personality - Agency - Premises occupied by first and second applicant company destroyed, Companies wholly owned subsidiaries trading solely with and under the direction of third applicant company - Whether third applicant company could recover consequential loss -Whether a sufficient proprietary interest - Whether corporate veil should be lifted.
Munton Brothers Ltd. and Munton Brothers (Pyjamas) Ltd. were wholly owned subsidiaries of J. H. Jacks Ltd. the parent company. The only activities of the subsidiary companies were to make up shirts from cloth supplied by the parent company which cloth remained the property of the parent company. The payment for their work was fixed by the parent company so that the subsidiaries made neither profit nor loss. The subsidiaries were entirely controlled by the parent company and had no business with any supplier or customer except the parent company. The three companies kept their accounts as a group and were treated as a group for the purposes of corporation tax. The factories occupied by Munton Brothers Ltd. and Munton Brothers (Pyjamas) Ltd. were destroyed by terrorist explosions in 1971 and 1972. The three companies applied for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Acts (Northern Ireland) 1956-1970. The Recorder of Belfast awarded compensation to the companies, which included an award to the parent company of £106,545 consequential loss being losses sustained by the parent company as a result of the explosions and damage. The respondent appealed by way of case stated on the question whether compensation under the Criminal Injuries Acts, (Northern Ireland) 1956-1970 was payable for consequential loss suffered by a parent company as a result of compensatable damage caused by the property of its wholly owned subsidiary. Held, dismissing the...
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