Those without Director and Officers Insurance and those whose policies don't provide cover for Corporate Manslaughter should take note of the resent comments from the Lord Chief Justice following the Court of Appeal has refused leave for Cotswold Geotechnical to appeal against their conviction and sentence for Corporate Manslaughter. Cotswold became the first company to be convicted of Corporate Manslaughter in February 2011 and were fined £385,000. They sought leave to appeal on the basis that a fine of more than their annual turnover was excessive and that their Managing Director’s unavailability due to illness had prevented a fair trial.

The Lord Chief Justice found no grounds for criticising either the way in which the trial had been conducted or the level of the fine imposed. The sentencing guidelines recognised that sometimes the appropriate level of fine might force a company into bankruptcy. To impose a fine of less than the annual turnover would have resulted in a ludicrously small fine for such a serious offence.

David Hedgecock

01 July 2011