4.7 the second Claimant’s Avonmouth oil terminal at Holesmouth Road, Royal Edward dock, Avonmouth BS11 9BT (shown outlined red on the plan G in Schedule 1 to the Order made by Bourne J on 28.7.2023); 4.8 the third Claimant’s Pembrokeshire terminal at Main Road, Waterston, Milford Haven SA73 1DR (shown outlined red on plan H in Schedule 1 to the Order made by Bourne J on 28.7.2023).
Bundles 5.
For the hearing I was provided with a core bundle and 5 lever arch files making up the supplementary bundle, a bundle of authorities, a skeleton argument, a draft order and a final witness statement from Ms Hurle. Nothing was provided by any Defendant.
Summary 6.
The 4 Organisations and members of the public connected with them seek to disrupt the petrochemical industry in England and Wales in furtherance of their political objectives and demands. After various public threats and protests and on police intelligence the Claimants issued a Claim Form on the 18th of March 2022 alleging that they feared tortious trespass and nuisance by persons unknown connected with the 4 Organisations at their 8 Sites and their access roads and seeking an interim injunction prohibiting that tortious behaviour. 7. Various interim prohibitions were granted by Mr Justice Butcher on the 21st of March 2022 in an ex-parte interim injunction protecting the 8 Sites and access thereto. However, protests involving tortious action took place at the Claimant’s and other companies’ Kingsbury site between the 1st and the 15th of April 2022 leading to not less than 86 protesters being arrested. The Claimants applied to continue their injunction and it was renewed by various High Court judges and eventually replaced by a similar interim injunction made by Mr Justice Bourne on the 28th of July 2023. 8. On the 12th of December 2023 the Claimants applied for summary judgment and for a final injunction to last five years with annual reviews. This judgment deals with the final hearing of that application which took place before me. 9. Despite valid service of the application, evidence and notice of hearing, none of the named Defendants attended at the hearing which was in open Court and no UPs attended at the hearing, nor did any member of the public as far as I could see in Court. The Claimants’ counsel informed me that no communication took place between any named Defendant and the Claimants’ solicitors in relation to the hearing other than by way of negotiations for undertakings for 43 of the named Defendants who all promised not to commit the feared torts in future.
The Issues 10.
The issues before me were as follows:
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