Plantation A Legal Thriller

by J M S Macfarlane

  Chapter 51

  Overnight, the journalists at Insurance World and the Financial Times had been busy tracking down the insurers for Hermes Transnational. The underwriter who had written the policy for the Aegean Star was naturally interested to know the background to Ashby's discussions with the mate. There were also people from his Syndicate along with the Underwriting Association, Interpol and the Greek Embassy in London who all wanted to speak to him about what he’d said in court.

  To add to the confusion, the judge was due to give his decision at ten o’clock that morning.

  In the crowd outside court fourteen, a youthful messenger from Marlowe & Co in a sloppy grey suit and with a cheap aftershave, pushed his way through the crowd to give Ashby a bundle of papers in exchange for a written receipt.

  The bundle included Wheelers’ affidavits in the Caspian case, of which the judge in chambers had expressed misgivings the previous day. There was also the Order freezing Plantation’s bank accounts and its reserves in the hands of its investment managers.

  When Ashby looked through the papers and saw the Order, he immediately took Riordan, Meredith and Wells to a nearby meeting room to discuss the implications of this new development.

  Meredith said : “We don't have time, just at the moment to go through it now but these types of Orders are usually short-lived. We should be able to get it overturned later in the week.” (It also occurred to him that while Plantation was producing a treasure-trove of work, if its bank accounts were frozen, he might not get paid for future work. Riordan had similar thoughts.)

  “How could this happen when we knew nothing about it ?” demanded Ashby. “We haven’t even got onto Caspian’s claim yet. Is this how the law works ? You’re pronounced guilty before you’ve committed the crime ?”

  Riordan was philosophical. “If the judge is against us today – as we anticipate – then it mightn’t matter anyway. If Hellas Global don’t get the money they expect, they may try to wind up Plantation. If that happens, everyone is going to have to wait in line. At any rate, we may be able to sort it out fairly quickly, once we find out what's going on. At the moment though, we need to concentrate on what the judge is going to say and then put our appeal together. That is our first priority.”

  In the courtroom when the clock showed ten on the dot, the judge made his entry and once seated, immediately began reading from a wedge of hand-written notes composed the night before.

  The first ten pages recited the basic facts in the case which were supposedly not in dispute (whilst studiously avoiding any mention of fraud or Ashby’s detective work). After that came a review of the written arguments of both sides and the documents which each had produced, all of which could have formed a fair-sized book on its own. By the time quarter to eleven had arrived, the judge was still reading.

  As is usual in English courts, verbosity is the order of the day and judgments in reported cases, although logically reasoned, develop a life of their own in forty plus pages of prolix analysis. They are the delight of law students the world over who suffer the drudgery of reading them and de-constructing them. In this instance, Hedley had written up the case for the Admiralty Law Reports which was a good way of advertising himself and his clever powers of reasoning – the Lord Chief Justice was always looking for bright judges to move up to the Court of Appeal. Hedley sometimes imagined himself with the knighthood which went with promotion – ‘Sir Thomas Hedley’ or ‘Lord Justice Hedley’ – they had a ring about them. For these reasons, he wanted his judgment to be impregnable, to withstand any criticism or a future appeal which was likely from what had been alleged by Plantation.

  After the rambling discourse had taken an hour, the judge examined what the witnesses had said. A few had impressed him. Others he dismissed. Others still, were distrusted by him or considered unreliable. This included Ashby as no actual proof of fraud had been produced. Despite a lot of hearsay and second-hand reports of events by Plantation, especially by the mate of the Aegean Star, many offensive comments had been made about Hellas Global and its employees who had died on its ship. These remarks would have been hurtful to the families of the Captain, officers and crew who lost their lives, said the judge.

  The verbose assessment continued. At certain points, Elefthriou and his lawyers were elated when the judge seemed to support them. Later, they were downcast when he seemed to disagree with them. At other times, they didn’t know which side was going to win.

  Eventually, the judge said that where a ship had sunk without trace of the wreck, the crew or the cargo, it was presumed that the ‘perils of the sea’ had caused the sinking : this was covered in Stirling’s policy inherited by Plantation.

  At this point, Ashby, Riordan, Meredith and Wells realised their expectations had been fulfilled and awaited the inevitable trumpeting of their opponents’ success.

  At the end of one and three quarter hours, the judge declared that Hellas Global had proved its claim and that Plantation had to pay twenty million pounds plus interest plus all of Hellas Global’s legal costs.

  When Hedley finished speaking, Riordan, Meredith, Ransome, Garrick and Frances Keen were all close to collapsing after having scribbled transcripts of the judgment, non-stop for over a hundred minutes.

  Overcome with their victory, Hellas Global’s lawyers were all smiles and laughter and shook hands with Thanakis, Grant and Elefthriou. While this was going on, Ashby and his friends left the court, pursued by journalists. As they on the point of going, they were met by Black, Grenville and George Waring.

  “We’ve heard the outcome – Plantation has to pay around twenty two million,” said Grenville.

  “You’re already aware, Mr Ashby that Plantation doesn't have the full amount to settle the debt,” said Waring. “The board have appointed me to liquidate the company. Tomorrow, I’ll be asking the Companies Court for a Scheme of Arrangement so that the money owed to the creditors including policyholders can be protected, gathered in and then distributed.”

  “Can we quote you on that ?” asked one of the reporters.

  Just then, Elefthriou, Thanakis, Grant and the others appeared from the court room, laughing and ecstatic that at the end of their five-day ordeal, they had been successful.

  Ashby tapped Grant on the shoulder : “This is George Waring. If he becomes Plantation’s liquidator, Hellas might not get anything for months or years. They certainly won’t get all of their claim paid.”

  “Will you be calling a creditors meeting ?” asked a reporter from Insurance World. “Is the Risk Exchange aware of this ?”

  As Grant went off to tell the others, Ashby said to Waring and to the reporters who had by this time assembled around him : “The judgment in Hellas Global v Plantation Re is a miscarriage of justice because the claim is a fraud – a criminal fraud. Plantation will be appealing against the judgment which I predict will be overturned. There is therefore no debt which could force the company into liquidation. We will be making a full statement on Monday. I have nothing more to say. Thank you.” Then taking George Waring aside, he said, “We need to discuss this with you today. Can you join us at Gatehouse Chambers, Old Square, Lincoln’s Inn – the chambers of Mr Arthur Riordan at three o’clock this afternoon ?”

  After Waring reluctantly agreed to meet them, Ashby told Grenville that he wanted a full board meeting for ten o’clock on the following Monday morning, it then being Friday afternoon just after mid-day. Then as Waring headed off in one direction, Ashby and his group went in the opposite direction, leaving Grenville and Black by themselves.

  Grenville gave his confederate a puzzled look. “Didn’t you say the judge agreed with you completely ? What’s all this about fraud ?”

  “Ashby’s clutching at straws – what else would you expect him to say ? He hasn’t a hope now and he knows it. He’ll never find any proof. I’ve made sure of that.”

  “You mean....there was fraud involved ? And you knew the claim was a set-up all along ? How did you know that ?”<
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  “Roger, my friend – you do me a disservice. Before I even met the broker and before we even talked about the policy, I made some enquiries of my own. Hellas Global have a certain ‘reputation’, shall we say. That was why no underwriter would give them the cover they wanted. I got in touch with them. I saw their local representative, Thanakis and asked him in so many words whether they were looking for a special deal. You see, I knew what they were after so we understood each other perfectly. He said they would definitely look after things at their end in Athens and I said I would push the claim through – for the right price. When the claim is paid, we will settle up between us. In the meantime, Thanakis has assured me there is absolutely no possibility that Ashby will find out anything at all about our little arrangement and that everything has been taken care of satisfactorily.”

  “Remarkable. I’ve said it before,” said Grenville, “your resourcefulness continually amazes me.”

  Then both of them found their way out of the High Court building and decided to celebrate the impending liquidation of Plantation Re with a bottle of PommdePomm champagne in a wine bar across the street.