Heavy haulier L Lynch Plant Hire & Haulage has won its appeal against an £800,000 fine, after the judge deemed the fine “manifestly excessive” and reduced it to £10,000.
The company, which has its headquarters in London and operates from nine depots across the UK, was taken to court after West Midlands police stopped one of its HGVs carrying a 79-tonne piling machine to Birmingham, in March last year.
When the paperwork was checked, police discovered the movement notification submitted by the operator included an incorrect registration number, which rendered the paperwork invalid.
Whilst the registration number on the paperwork was for another lorry, the vehicle carrying the piling machine was equally capable of moving the 79-tonne machine.
However, officers deemed the error to constitute a serious safety risk and despite L Lynch insisting it was a straightforward clerical error, which had not resulted in any safety risk, the company was taken to court and fined £800,000 - an amount based on the company’s turnover.
At the time L Lynch’s lawyers had estimated the fine would be between £7,000 and £25,000.
The company appealed, arguing that the law had been misinterpreted by the magistrates court.
Last week the fine to £10,000 on appeal.
Ruling on the case, Justice Buckingham, said: “Having reflected on the penalty and with respect to District Judge Qureshi, the fine imposed in the magistrates court was manifestly excessive.
“Lynch were guilty of only a low level of culpability and harm, if in fact any harm at all had resulted from what was an offence of an entirely technical nature due to human error.
“The vehicle, the subject of the offence, was otherwise entirely compliant of relevant road regulations and continued safely on its journey as it was already being escorted by Lynch vehicles and there were no aggravating features to the offence at all.
“The fine is therefore reduced from £800,000 to £10,000.”
In a statement on this latest ruling L Lynch said: “Earlier this year, a fine was issued to our company for a transport offence.
“At the time, we were very surprised at the size of the fine, and therefore appealed against this. We are grateful to all those who offered their support.
“Today, the appeal was successful and the total fine cost has been reduced to £10,000.
“A clerical error led to an invalid movement notification, but our systems do not allow a vehicle to carry an unsafe load, so safety was never compromised.”
The company added: “We respect the efforts of the Transport Police to ensure the safety of the communities we serve.”
