North Warwickshire Borough Council v Sarah Benn [2022] EWHC 1499 (QB) (11 May 2022)

North Warwickshire Borough Council v Sarah Benn [2022] EWHC 1499 (QB) (11 May 2022)

The defendant committed two deliberate breaches of an interim injunction order by participating in protests within a prohibited buffer zone and obstructing access to the Kingsbury Oil Terminal. Although the breaches warranted financial penalties, the time already spent in custody was a more severe sanction than the breaches merited. Therefore, no further penalty was imposed.

Citation
[2022] EWHC 1499
Parties
Claimant: North Warwickshire Borough Council; Defendant: Sarah Benn
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
11 May 2022
Procedural Posture
Contempt of Court (civil) / Sentencing/final Judgment
Outcome
No order on the breaches; no order as to costs.
Legal Topics
Interim Injunctions, Contempt of Court, Protest Law, Sentencing for Civil Contempt
Civil Procedure Environmental Law Interim Injunctions Contempt of Court Protest Law Sentencing for Civil Contempt

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 2 Authorities cited 4 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 3
Sign in to unlock

Parties

North Warwickshire Borough Council

Claimant

Sarah Benn

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Contempt of Court (civil) / Sentencing/final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the defendant breached the terms of an interim injunction order
  2. 2 Appropriate penalty for admitted breaches of a civil injunction

Ratio Decidendi

The defendant committed two deliberate breaches of an interim injunction order by participating in protests within a prohibited buffer zone and obstructing access to the Kingsbury Oil Terminal. Although the breaches warranted financial penalties, the time already spent in custody was a more severe sanction than the breaches merited. Therefore, no further penalty was imposed.

Court Disposition

No order on the breaches; no order as to costs.

Orders

  • No financial penalty imposed due to time spent in custody.
  • No order as to costs due to lack of costs schedule from claimant.