Host wins right to fight Marston’s bill

http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news.ma/ViewArticle?R=82942

Well done Mark Charman for having the guts and fortitude to stand up for your rights. Mark Charman's experience is example of how distant justice is to the average licensee. His relationship with the pubco quite clearly must have been exceptional or he would not have been trading 30 of their pubs at any one time. Ergo if Mr Charman has to spend £100 grand getting to this point - which one would hope is a pivotal change of direction in a long standing ongoing legal fight -any other licensee would likely have to spend the same in order to attempt to see justice done for themselves - which, surely, is a commercial impossibility for most people.

Evidently the costs of law and litigation supports the side with most funds i.e. the freeholder, and penalises those without funds i.e. the leaseholder, most of whom have NO money at all.

Such are the costs of achieving justice that many licensees pay buying out fines levied ("pay up now sonny boy or we'll go for forfeiture of lease - and we'll get it, period") on evidence provided by inaccurate, unreliable and uncalibrated flow monitoring equipment - even when THEY HAVE NOT BOUGHT OUT OF TIE - because they simply cannot afford to fight their position legally and believe ultimately they will lose because they are not in a position to defend themselves against the teams of lawyers and barristers put up by the other side.


Yup. And it's the colossal costs which put licensees off - and if anyone gets near court there will be a flurry of last minute activity on the steps as a deal is made to drop the pursuit of damages from the lessee.

Who's in charge of all this?

Yes. A few CEOs who know it all goes on but have no care for the perennially dire consequences that spread out across the pub trade like a virus.