In the ongoing saga of Warrington BC vs Pink Ladies, the Council continues to display a level of arrogance, incompetence, or complete disarray in failing to comply with a court order for documents crucial to the case to be supplied to the Court, not once, but twice.

Judge Bridget Knight, sitting at Warrington Magistrates Court, 10th June 2009, heard how the Council’s legal team, Allansons, had failed to comply with a long list of actions before the deadline of 4th June, and reluctantly gave them an extension until 4pm 17th June 2009, which it can be reported today (17th June) they have yet again failed to attain.

During the hearing, which instead of being an hour, as scheduled, lasted from 10am until 3pm, with a break for the Allanson representative, Mr Patel, to take instructions from the Council, and another for lunch, Judge Knight listened to the list of excuses made by the Council’s representative, but did not appear to be too pleased.

Before lunch it came to light that the Council had also failed to serve the full list of charges on the defendants, Tina Dutton and Andrea Winders, which caused a flurry of activity by Council Officers, in trying to make sense of what had and had not been served.

Upon reconvening after lunch District Judge Knight heard from a rather ruffled Jon Holmes, of Warrington Borough Council, who claimed that the correct notices had been served on the Courts, but not on the defendants, and he apologised to the Judge for missing the information deadlines, promising to “go back the office that afternoon and complete the task”.

Judge Knight awarded a wasted costs order against Warrington Borough Council of almost £700, and rebuked them, giving an extension to allow them to present evidence to the court and Pink Ladies’ solicitor, James Parry.

“I am rather stunned that the Council has failed to comply with this order on a second occasion,” said James, of Nadim Associates, “this information was vital to our case in defence against the action brought by Warrington Borough Council, and it is unfair for them to behave in this way.  We have supplied all information required in advance of the deadlines, and are being held back from forming a case for the defence of Pink Ladies by Warrington Borough Council’s legal team”