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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Queen's Bench Division) Decisions >> Joseph & Ors v Spiller & Anor [2012] EWHC 2958 (QB) (26 October 2012) URL: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2012/2958.html Cite as: [2012] EWHC 2958 (QB) |
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QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
____________________
(1)CRAIG JOSEPH (2) JASON JOSEPH (3)ANTHONY RAYMOND |
Claimants |
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- and - |
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(1) JASON SPILLER (2) 1311 EVENTS LIMITED |
Defendants |
____________________
David Price QC and Korieh Duodu (of David Price Solicitors and Advocates) for the Defendants
Hearing dates: 15 to 18 October 2012
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Crown Copyright ©
Mr Justice Tugendhat :
THE PUBLICATIONS COMPLAINED OF
"The Gillettes
1311 Events is no longer able to accept bookings for this artist as the Gillettes c/o Mr Joseph are not professional enough to feature in our portfolio and have not been able to abide by the terms of their contract. …
The artist is known as:
The Gillettes, Saturday Night At The Movies, 4 Play plus, Craig Joseph.
Profile
The Gillettes sing soul and motown…
What we say:
The show is an enjoyable soul and motown experience which is popular for many events throughout the UK. However, following a breach of contract, Mr Joseph who runs The Gillettes and Saturday Night at the Movies has advised 1311 Events that the terms and conditions of '…contracts hold no water in legal terms' (27.03.07). For this reason, it may follow that the artists' obligations for your booking may also not be met. In essence, Mr Joseph who performs with/arranges bookings for the Gillettes and Saturday Night at the Movies may sign a contract for your booking but will not necessarily adhere to it. We would recommend that you take legal advice before booking this artist to avoid any possible difficulties.
Instead we recommend any of the following professional bands and artists… (emphasis original)".
THE MEANING OF THE WORDS COMPLAINED OF
"The legal principles relevant to meaning … may be summarised in this way: (1) The governing principle is reasonableness. (2) The hypothetical reasonable reader is not naïve but he is not unduly suspicious. He can read between the lines. He can read in an implication more readily than a lawyer and may indulge in a certain amount of loose thinking but he must be treated as being a man who is not avid for scandal and someone who does not, and should not, select one bad meaning where other non-defamatory meanings are available. (3) Over-elaborate analysis is best avoided. (4) The intention of the publisher is irrelevant. (5) The article must be read as a whole, and any "bane and antidote" taken together. (6) The hypothetical reader is taken to be representative of those who would read the publication in question. (7) … the court should rule out any meaning which, "can only emerge as the produce of some strained, or forced, or utterly unreasonable interpretation…" (8) It follows that "it is not enough to say that by some person or another the words might be understood in a defamatory sense".
"…the Claimants are grossly unprofessional and untrustworthy and will not, and/or are unlikely to, honour any bookings made for them to perform either as The Gillettes or as Saturday Night at the Movies."
"… [Mr Joseph] has stated in writing, on behalf of the Claimants, that as far as they are concerned the terms of and conditions of contracts do not hold water in legal terms. Thus it is highly likely that, even after entering into a contract to perform, they will not bother turning up to honour such a commitment".
"6.1 The [Mr Joseph] on behalf of the claimants has :-
6.1.1. Conducted himself in such a manner so as to entitle the defendants to conclude that 'The Gillettes' were not sufficiently professional to feature in the second defendant's portfolio.
6.1.2. Breached the terms of agreements with the second defendant.
6.1.3. Demonstrated a contemptuous, cavalier and unprofessional attitude to the contractual obligations as evidenced by his email of 27 March 2007.
6.1.4 Behaved in an unprofessional and untrustworthy manner
6.2 In the circumstances, the claimants may not necessarily adhere to the terms of booking agreements signed by [Mr Joseph]."
"1311 Events is no longer able to accept bookings for this artist as the Gillettes c/o [Mr Joseph] are not professional enough to feature in our portfolio and have not been able to abide by the terms of their contract. … Instead we recommend any of the following professional bands and artists…"
"the publication of which he complains may be defamatory of him because it [substantially] affects in an adverse manner the attitude of other people towards him, or has a tendency so to do".
"as far as they are concerned the terms of and conditions of contracts do not hold water in legal terms. Thus it is highly likely that even after entering into a contract to perform, they will not bother turning up".
THE DEFENCES
a) that they agreed directly with Bibis restaurant a re-engagement for 9 May 2007 in breach of the re-engagement clause in the previous booking with that establishment for a performance on 31 December 2006 which had been made through the agency of the Second Defendant;
b) The content of an email of 27 March 2007 which Mr Joseph sent to the First Defendant;
c) The cancellation of a booking made for an event at the Landmarc in Bournemouth for 4 March 2006. It is said that the Claimants had cancelled the booking about a week after signing the booking form dated 17 December 2005, explaining that they had mistakenly overlooked a pre-existing booking. The Defendants plead that this was unprofessional and that it is to be inferred that the Claimants did not have a pre-existing booking, but that something better had come up.
d) The agreement made between the Claimants and Mr C for the Claimants to play for an additional 30 minutes at his wedding. The agreement provided that they would "charge an additional £275 (cash)" and that they "would not charge the VAT on that fee and that would be direct to us guys and nothing to do with 13-11 Events". The Defendants allege that the Claimants were seeking to evade paying the commission due to 1311 Events and the VAT.
e) That the Claimants had no right to make the threat they did make in their e-mail of 27 March to cancel the booking for Mr C's wedding.
f) The Claimants' conduct of the claim in this action. Three matters are relied on. (i) First it is said that the claim for special damages for the alleged cancellation of a performance booked for November 2008 is a fabrication. (ii) Second, it is said that the Claimants have dishonestly denied that the £275 referred to in the agreement between them and Mr C was paid to them in order to evade tax. (iii) Third, it is said that the Claimants have fabricated evidence of a conversation between Mr Joseph and Mr Spiller in which it is claimed that Mr Spiller instructed Mr Joseph not to send any promotional material to Bibis, and that it was not company policy to send it out again.
g) The claims of the Second and Third Claimants are dependent upon the claims of the First Claimant, and so their claims should be rejected for the same reason.
"'The Gillettes' c/o [Mr Joseph] are not professional enough to feature in our portfolio…it may follow that the artists' obligations for your booking may also not be met. In essence, [Mr Joseph] who performs with/arranges bookings for 'The Gillettes' and 'Saturday Night at the Movies' may sign a contract for your booking but will not necessarily adhere to it."
THE HISTORY OF THE LITIGATION
THE LAW ON TRUTH
"In an action for libel or slander in respect of words containing two or more distinct charges against the plaintiff, a defence of justification shall not fail by reason only that the truth of every charge is not proved if the words not proved to be true do not materially injure the plaintiff's reputation having regard to the truth of the remaining charges."
THE LAW ON HONEST OPINION
"[i] … First, the comment must be on a matter of public interest. ….
[ii] Second, the comment must be recognisable as comment, as distinct from an imputation of fact. If the imputation is one of fact, a ground of defence must be sought elsewhere, for example, justification or privilege. Much learning has grown up around the distinction between fact and comment. For present purposes it is sufficient to note that a statement may be one or the other, depending on the context. Ferguson J gave a simple example in the New South Wales case of Myerson v. Smith's Weekly (1923) 24 SR (NSW) 20, 26:
'To say that a man's conduct was dishonourable is not comment, it is a statement of fact. To say that he did certain specific things and that his conduct was dishonourable is a statement of fact coupled with a comment.'
[iii] Third, the comment must be based on facts which are true or protected by privilege: see, for instance, London Artists Ltd v Littler [1969] 2 QB 375, 395. If the facts on which the comment purports to be founded are not proved to be true or published on a privilege occasion, the defence of fair comment is not available.
[iv] Next the comment must explicitly or implicitly indicate, at least in general terms, the facts on which it is based.
[v] Finally, the comment must be one which could have been made by an honest person, however prejudiced he might be, and however exaggerated or obstinate his views: see Lord Porter in Turner v Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Ltd [1950] 1 All ER 449, 461, commenting on an observation of Lord Esher MR in Merivale v Carson (1888) 20 QBD 275, 281. It must be germane to the subject-matter criticised. Dislike of an artist's style would not justify an attack upon his morals or manners. But a critic need not be mealy-mouthed in denouncing what he disagrees with. He is entitled to dip his pen in gall for the purposes of legitimate criticism: see Jordan CJ in Gardiner v Fairfax (1942) 42 SR (NSW) 171, 174.
These are the outer limits of the defence. The burden of establishing that a comment falls within these limits, and hence within the scope of the defence, lies upon the Defendant who wishes to rely upon the defence.
[vi] A Defendant is not entitled to rely on the defence of fair comment if the comment was made maliciously".
"Pill LJ held that the words in their posting identified by the defendants as comment were, indeed, comment rather than allegations of fact …. Pill LJ did not refer to authorities which indicate that, if there is an issue of whether words are fact or comment, this is a matter for the jury. His finding can be upheld on the basis that the words in question are unarguably comment, and it has not been challenged in this court".
"In an action for libel or slander in respect of words consisting partly of allegations of fact and partly of expression of opinion, a defence of fair comment shall not fail by reason only that the truth of every allegation of fact is not proved if the expression of opinion is fair comment having regard to such of the facts alleged or referred to in the words complained of as are proved."
"The fact that the Defendant may have been motivated by spite or ill-will is no longer material. The only issue is whether he believed that his comment was justified."
THE RE-ENGAGEMENT WITH BIBIS
"Pill LJ held, at para 42, that the Defendants could not rely on the Bibis breach. He said that there was no reference to it in the words complained of. That is not correct. The statement that the claimants had "not been able to abide by the terms of their contract" and the reference to "following a breach of contract" were references to the Bibis breach. As I understand it, however, the reason why Pill LJ held that this could not be relied on was that the posting did not identify the contract that had been broken, still less the term allegedly breached, so that the reader was not in a position to evaluate whether the breach justified the comment.
For the reasons that I have given I do not consider that this was necessary. The posting sufficiently identified the breach as part of the subject matter of the comment, albeit that the breach was not particularised. It follows that the defendants are entitled to rely upon the Bibis breach to support their defence of fair comment."
"The client and artist agree that subsequent bookings within a 12 month period, from any artist provided by 1311 Events will be booked directly 1311 Events and not with the artist directly".
"In 2006 [Ms] Harvey was in charge of booking entertainments for the restaurant's dinner dances before [Ms] Dawes took over her role later in the year… My relationship with Ms Harvey was good".
"I accept that she asked me to provide some promotional CDs for artists that we represented (not for The Gillettes). I did mention that I had recently sent them, which I had. I deny that I was rude or unfriendly or that there was anything wrong in me saying so. Ms Dawes said that she wanted the CDs quickly and it made sense to say that I had already sent them, particularly since she had recently taken up her role. I accept that Ms Dawes did not react well to me pointing that out. … I was not encouraged by Ms Dawes' manner towards me during the conversation…"
THE FIRST CLAIMANTS' E-MAIL OF 27 MARCH 2007
"Pill LJ held, at para 38, that the defendants could not rely on the first claimant's email because this had been misquoted by the defendants in their posting. I do not agree. That email had, arguably, evidenced a contemptuous and cavalier approach to the claimants' contractual obligations to the defendants. The email as quoted, arguably, evidenced a contemptuous and cavalier approach to contracts in general. So far as concerns the basis of the defendants' comments about the claimants' attitude to their contractual obligations, a jury might take the view that there was no significant difference between the email as sent and the email as quoted. The jury should be directed that if they thought that the email as quoted differed significantly from the email as sent they should disregard it but that otherwise they can have regard to it when considering the defence of fair comment."
"Craig
It appears you have taken a booking directly with Bibis. We will be instructing our legal team to deal with this. I will also be discussing this with the Musicians Union as it does appear that, aside from having no commitment to those that give you work, you are also not able to abide by the terms of your contract.
'The client and artist agree that subsequent bookings within a 12 month period, from any artist provided by 1311 Events can only be booked directly with 1311 Events'.
Forthwith, we will not be representing you any longer as we can only work with professional artists who can accept our terms and conditions.
Kind Regards
Jason"
"11. …The booking had not been made through us. This was a clear breach of the re-engagement term … and was extremely dishonourable … it seemed clear that Mr Joseph had deliberately decided to go behind our backs. I was very disappointed that he had chosen to act in this manner. It was not so much the loss of commission; it was more the principle that he should deliberately negotiate a booking with our client to the exclusion of 1311 Events. It was not the first time he had let us down…
16. As a result of [Mr Joseph]'s conduct in going behind our backs to breach the Re-Engagement term (following on from his cancellation of the Landmarc booking) I concluded that … [the Claimants] were not sufficiently professional to feature in our company portfolio… I also referred [in my e-mail] to taking legal action. I decided that this would not be worthwhile bearing in mind the amount at stake. As I said, I was more concerned with the principle…
29 … I did not deliberately alter the words of the email. … I accept that there is an inaccuracy in the extract that has been quoted, but deny that it has distorted the overall message of the posting. It is clear that what I am saying is that Mr Joseph has not abided with his contract with us and that makes me believe that he may well do the same with others".
"Hi Jason
It appears you do not know the meaning of freelance, that is what all my shows are. You are part of a cog which supplies all agents and artitses [sic] alike with work, one does not work without the other.
You came to me Jason after viewing the quality of our show, your contract is mearly [sic] a formality and holds no water in legal terms. You should consider looking after your clients/venueus [sic] better then maybe you would not lose them. Do not be fooled into thinking you can lose venues and reep [sic] the benefits from others hard work, that does not hold any legal value any more. You [sic] offer of work to my shows over the years was minimal and neither helped nor hindered our diary.
I am not performing in the show, and since your agreement and terms was with me there are no grounds for your terms and conditions.
Thers [sic] is one outstanding show with you guys Aug 4th o7 we will honour the show as we have all the other shows through your agency, providing you make sure the balance fee £900.00 + vat. TOTAL = £1057.50 is in our account 2 weeks prior to the show date, thus avoiding any cancelation [sic] of the show. Please confirm this can be organised within 7 days or I will cancel the date.
I look forward to any legal trysts.
Kind regards
Craig (On behalf of the Gillettes)"
"The second paragraph of the email advised me to look after bands and venues better. There had been no previous suggestion that we had failed to look after him or any of the venues that we had booked. No explanation was given for what he said. The only problem that had been encountered with the band was the cancellation of the Landmarc booking which was obviously not our fault. Our relationship with Bibis had always been good … Once again this looked like an obviously bogus attempt to justify what he had done."
"You should consider looking after your clients/venueus [sic] better then maybe you would not lose them. Do not be fooled into thinking you can lose venues and reep [sic] the benefits from others hard work, that does not hold any legal value any more."
THE CANCELLATION OF THE LANDMARC BOOKING
"… the Defendants cannot rely upon the Landmarc breach to support their defence of fair comment. This leaves them with the Bibis breach and the first claimant's email as potential support for their comment."
THE AGREEMENT WITH MR C AND THE THREAT TO CANCEL THE BOOKING
"By email of 16 April 2007 to [Mr C] [Mr Joseph] agreed to play an additional 30 minute set provided that he was paid £275 in cash. [Mr Joseph] stated:
'We can play an additional 30 minute set but we would have to charge an additional £275 (cash) for that pro-rata to the fee we would not charge VAT on that fee and that would be direct to us guys and nothing to do with 1311 Events!'
[Mr Joseph] was thereby seeking to evade paying the First Defendant's commission on the additional sum as well as VAT and (it is to be inferred) income tax. In [Mr Joseph]'s booking form signed by him on 25 April 2007 he requested that "cash be paid on the night to avoid confusion with paper work and VAT". It is to be inferred from the manner in which [Mr Joseph] conducted himself in relation to this booking, that he was generally amenable to seeking and accepting cash payments in order to evade the payment of tax."
"It is agreed that The Gillettes will perform as per contract with 1311 Events already signed and agreed. It is further agreed that The Gillettes will perform a further thirty minute set on top of the already agreed 2 x 40 minute spots contract for a fee of £275.00 no VAT has been added on to the fee, as agreed by email.
Performance Times…
Fee due on night ref 1311 Events £1057.50 inclusive of vat
And a further £275 cash as agreed no vat
Total due on night £1332.50
Please can cash be paid on the night to avoid confusion with my paperwork and vat?..."
"have the decency or professionalism to contact me to tell me of the change of situation. I am sure you realise that this could have had an extremely negative effect on a very important day for us and as such I find the lack of contact not only unprofessional but also uncourteous. If the band had not been professional enough to contact the venue and obtain our contact details it is possible we wouldn't have known anything of this before our wedding day….".
"Thank you for your e-mail we are as surprised as you to discover this as the band leader Mr Joseph has signed a contract with us for your wedding and also confirmed in writing that he will be performing for you. We will look into this Michael and please be assured that your event is extremely important to us and will come back to you shortly with further information".
"Thank you for your e-mail. This must be a very difficult situation for you and we do not wish to detract from your special day. Following a dispute earlier this year with [Mr Joseph] 1311 Events has decided not to take any further bookings for The Gillettes. [Mr Joseph] agreed to honour your booking with us so we decided that there was no need to bother you with the situation between 1311 Events and [Mr Joseph]. This was a professional decision as we did not feel it necessary for any of our clients to become embroiled in and agent/artist disagreement. It is a little disappointing that [Mr Joseph] has decided to inform you about this as your event need not have been affected in any way. Our policy for all events is to contact clients three weeks prior to performance to confirm any final arrangements and also for the band leader to introduce themselves and discuss the music. There was no reason whatsoever why your event should have been affected…"
Did Mr Spiller believe that the Claimants might cancel the C Booking?
Does the Claimants' threat to cancel the C Booking support the Defence?
Evading VAT
THE CLAIMANTS' CONDUCT OF THIS LITIGATION
"6.20 Mr Spiller [sic] will also rely on the Claimants' conduct in relation to the present claim. In particular the Claimants have:
6.20.1 Put forward a bogus special damages claim in relation to the cancellation pleaded in paragraph 11(2) of the Re-Amended Particulars of Claim.
6.20.2 Dishonestly claimed that the absence of any reference to the additional payment in relation to the C Booking in their tax papers was because the additional set was not played.
6.20.3 Fabricated a conversation between [Mr Joseph] and [Mr Spiller] in which it is claimed that [Mr Spiller] instructed Mr Joseph not to send any promotional material to [Ms] Dawes of Bibis and that it was not company policy to sent it out again".
"(2) Cancellation of a booking made by Mr [CL] in the sum of £1000 to perform on 14 November 2008".
"Unfortunately on 10 April 2008 I got an email from a client [CL] cancelling a verbal agreement, for The Gillettes to perform on 14 November 2008 for a fee of £1000. I returned their deposit as requested. This cancellation was requested because the entry about us on 1311 Events website had reappeared and had been seen by this client."
"Dear Mr Joseph
I am writing to inform you that my partner was on a website yesterday called 1311 events and while looking at their acts he came across your group. The review that they have for you is certainly[sic] not complementary and therefore it is with deep regret that we are going to cancel your engagement to perform for us.
I trust I will receive my deposit in due course. …"
"3.In March 2008 I started planning my 50th birthday party for March 2009 for which I intended to book a Temptations/Mowtown tribute act… I intended to book the shows and try them out and if I liked them, use them for my birthday the following March. I was very concerned to make sure the entertainment was really good, especially as I had relatives coming for my birthday party from all over the country and from as far afield as Florida, Los Angeles and Spain.
4. The Temptations-like act I booked was The Gillettes, for a show on the 14 November 2008. In early April 2008 I made contact with them through their website. I …. spoke to [Mr Joseph] and booked a band. … As it was my intention to book The Gillettes for my birthday, if I liked them, I provisionally booked the band for my birthday in March 2009. Mr Joseph was happy with this arrangement. I cannot recall the agreed fee but I do remember that I agreed to pay a £500 deposit and sent a cheque to Mr Joseph very soon after our telephone discussion for that sum. He sent me some publicity material.
5. I was still looking for more acts for my birthday. Although I had booked The Gillettes I "googled" that name and came to a posting about them on 1311 Events' website. Having used that agency before, I was interested to see what 1311 Events had to say. I have been shown a website posting by the solicitors acting for the Claimants and confirm that is what I saw. I was obviously very concerned by this and therefore rang up 1311 Events to ask them what was wrong with The Gillettes. The person I spoke to, who I believe was a man, said The Gillettes were bad time-keepers, unprofessional and did not turn up for shows. I do not know who I spoke to at the agents.
6. Needless to say I took this very seriously. I have many dealings with agents and have never seen anything negative said by an agency about an act that it represents or has represented. I was really surprised by the posting on the website. In my experience, which is extensive, if you contact an agent who no longer represents an act you are interested in, they will just refer you to the act's entry in Spotlight or to their new agent. Having read what was on the website and then having spoken to 1311 Events, I was not going to risk the show on 14 November 2008 by booking The Gillettes, let alone my birthday celebrations the following March.
7. I therefore e-mailed [Mr Joseph] at the e-mail address on 10 April 2008 cancelling The Gillettes. I used my wife's e-mail address for this. We use each other's e-mail addresses as we run businesses together. This is why the e-mail reads as if it came from her not me. … I asked for the return of the deposit I paid which was sent back to me by Craig Joseph. The booking and cancellation took place within the space of about three days. …
9. I have since been told that the dispute between 1311 Events and the Claimants concerned a re-booking provision in 1311 Events' terms and conditions. I had no idea about this when I cancelled The Gillettes. I was therefore misled by 1311 Events in a dispute that had nothing to do with The Gillettes reliability. Had I known what the dispute was about, I would have used them. They appeared to fit the bill and their dispute with 1311 Events would have been of no use to me. I trusted 1311 Events because of my experience with them in 2003. In my business you have got to trust the agents you deal with.
10. I have never met Mr Joseph nor had any dealings with him apart from what is described in this statement" (emphasis added).
"Our clients did not know this client never having had any prior dealings" (emphasis added).
"[CL] is a dance and drama school. Our client recalls dealing with someone known to him as "Mike"; and this is confirmed by [MH] who recalls the booking and cancellation of it. …"
"Finally our suspicions in this matter are increased by the fact the letter purported to be from [CL] and actually referred to Mr [MH] in the third person, when we are now told that it was written and sent by him".
3. The background to this is that in about February 2009 I was contacted by a man who described himself as an associate to a [MH]. He did not give his name. He said that [MH] had numerous venues. He asked if The Gillettes would be interested in playing a short set on what I believe to have been Saturday 28 March 2009 at one of [MH]'s "many venues". This was to be for charity. He did not know the name of the charity. I was told that there would be no fee, and the set would be good for our band as [MH] had many venues and put many shows on. I was told other bands would also be performing. It is common practice for bands to perform for nothing at venues or for promoters in the hope that they will get recognition and paid work in the future. No birthday party was mentioned. I was told that [MH] had heard negative things about our band, but that he had also heard good things about us and was willing to give the band an opportunity.
4. I realised that this was the same [MH] who had previously cancelled our gig on 14 November 2008 referred to in my first statement. I saw no reason not to perform as it could be good for the group and we did not have anything booked for 28 March 2009. I was given an address for what I believed was in Bolton and the details of the venue and the time.
5. Upon arrival we noticed 50th birthday material around the room. It was clear that the event was a party and not for charity. We performed for approximately 30 to 35 minutes and then left the venue between 9.30 pm to 10.30 pm. Other performers were there and other performers were arriving as we were leaving. I saw what I assumed to be [MH] with his guests, as it was obvious that it was his party. However, we were not introduced and we did not speak to him. I have not spoken to him since the booking for 14 November 2008 was arranged in early 2008. We were not offered any work by him after his party.
6. The spreadsheets accounts I have provided… refer, under 'Sales March 09' to Pontins Hol Camps. We performed at Pontins, Southport in a two day show for that weekend. When I made the entry for this, I must have thought that we had worked on 28 March 2009, but in view of the [MH] party on that day we must have performed at Pontins on 29 March 2009. I have not been able to make contact with the promoters of the event at Pontins to obtain documentary evidence of that booking. I no longer have the contract for this.
7. In Autumn 2010 my solicitor told me that it was being alleged that I was in cahoots with [MH] in fabricating the cancellation e-mail I received from [CL]… It was also alleged that I had made up the November 2008 booking with [MH] to get my Union's support to bring the claim after the website posting went up again in early 2008. I admit misleading my solicitor about this. We had performed at [MH] fiftieth birthday party. I was afraid that the fact that we had performed at [MH] birthday party would indicate that we were in cahoots with him with regard to the November 2008 booking. I panicked about this and very stupidly told my solicitor that I had [no] further contact with [MH] after 2008. I am really sorry about this".
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS OF FACT
THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW TO THESE FACTS
DAMAGES
THE POSITION OF THE SECOND AND THIRD CLAIMANTS
CONCLUSION