Haulier wins lorry detention case

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A haulier who sued environmental authorities over the detention of three lorries taking waste from Dublin to Belfast has been awarded £65,000.

The High Court in Belfast ruled Patrick Laverty's vehicles were illegally taken from him by officials who were concerned about a landfill destination.

Mr Laverty sued Environmental Heritage Service (EHS) for illegally interfering with his property.

His lorries were stopped near Banbridge in September 2004.

They were then taken to facilities where the waste was removed and examined without anyone acting for Mr Laverty, who owns RGC International near Ballymena, being permitted to be present.

Mr Laverty's legal advisers were later informed by phone that the vehicles were detained by enforcement powers under the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.

The lorries had been transporting waste from two business premises in the South Dublin County Council area to Amber Merchants Ltd, trading as Waste Beater Unit at Kennedy Way Industrial Estate, Belfast.

In his judgment Lord Justice Higgins said: "It was suggested that Waste Beater recycles as much as it can and sells this on and the residue is sent to landfill sites.

"The authorities in Northern Ireland suspected that Waste Beater was a sham concern and that in fact it provided a landfill site for waste from the Republic at a cheaper rate than would apply in that jurisdiction and was not authorised to do so."

However, when the waste was returned to Dublin for inspection it was found to comply with types permitted there and could be processed at a modern recycling facility.

Checks on Waste Beater's premises also confirmed them to be capable of accepting and processing the materials recovered from the three vehicles.

Both South Dublin County Council and Belfast City Council were satisfied there was no reason why movement of waste under the relevant code could not take place, the court heard.

But with environment chiefs still retaining concerns, all shipments from one of the business premises in Dublin were suspended.

After stopping a judicial review case, Mr Laverty instead issued a writ of summons alleging that EHS officials had breached statutory powers within the order.

Lawyers for the department accepted that it had no power to stop vehicles, with the debate centred on whether there was authority to take a vehicle for examination.

Lord Justice Higgins held that neither a police constable nor an authorised officer has the power under the order to remove or direct the removal of a vehicle, however stopped, to another location to be detained there for any length of time.

The judge ruled: "Therefore the answer to the narrow issue which divides the parties is that the plaintiff's vehicles were unlawfully removed and detained and he is entitled to judgment in the agreed sum of £65,000 and costs."