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West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by gwr4090, Nov 15, 2007.

  1. Maunsell907

    Maunsell907 Member

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    First of, I agree with Ms White wrt defamation cases. There is a lot to be said for, ignore and move on.
    However , with all the will in the World, most of us have a breaking point, some lower than others
    ( I certainly can on occasion snap )

    I do not know the nature of whatever has been sent to Mrs Norman. Other than what JMA has
    posted on this forum. ( How he knows I know not )

    I assume , that whatever has ( or has not been ) sent is a personal issue between the gentleman,
    who happens to be Chair of the WSR Plc, and Mrs Norman. AFAIK it has not been sent as an
    'open' letter ?

    Michael Rowe
     
  2. ghost

    ghost Part of the furniture

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    Please reroute your plea to the board of the plc, c/o Minehead station.
    No-one on this forum has the power to close the railway.

    Keith
     
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  3. Alan Kebby

    Alan Kebby Well-Known Member

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    The question is, do the board of the plc have the power not to close the railway?
     
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  4. simon

    simon Resident of Nat Pres

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    Personally I would have ended your post after the words 'lock the door'.
     
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  5. Piggy

    Piggy Member

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    Because once a mindless bully ......
     
  6. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    They do have the power to change direction, but I suspect some of the board would have to grow a backbone and new board members elected to change the structure, Clearly the present board of 3, possibly 4, will all have to go, to be removed, and replaced by a new board then and only then can things move forward, that is assuming they want to see the railway survive beyond 2021, under the present board I have to say, I doubt the line can survive in any form.
     
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  7. nanstallon

    nanstallon Part of the furniture

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    If JJP loses the libel action, where will he get the money from to pay all the costs? Libel lawyers don't work for nothing!
     
  8. nanstallon

    nanstallon Part of the furniture

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    I'm sure that you are not alone.
     
  9. bristolian

    bristolian Member

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    His Surname fits...
     
  10. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    Two thoughts about expectations which I suspect apply in many such cases. One is that the person bringing the case doesn't expect to have to follow through (see the history behind Arkell for an example); the other that he can't imagine losing and therefore having to stump up the costs.
     
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  11. RailWest

    RailWest Part of the furniture

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    Difficult to close one anyway that's not really open at the moment :)
     
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  12. nanstallon

    nanstallon Part of the furniture

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    I suppose that is why starting a defamation action appeals to bullies; intimidating the defendant into settling out of court can be lucrative. Suing somebody who may have the weight of a big employer behind her may not be so clever, though.
     
  13. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    I would be more interested in the defendant's union and it's pockets for something that was done in her professional capacity.
     
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  14. Alan Kebby

    Alan Kebby Well-Known Member

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    Is her employer behind her though? Whilst I completely disagree with the WSRs actions, it was perhaps unwise to express her personal opinions on her employer’s letterhead.
     
  15. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    I believe it was confirmed at the time that the letter was written with the consent of the school governors, so not just a personal opinion.
     
  16. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    And a court case, where questions would be asked of the Chairman, some pressing questions about the decisions taken, might further do damage to the railway, under this current boards stewardship, then what more would it take for the Council to protect it's own reputation , might they in turn if facing questions be forced to strip the WSR PLC of their lease of the line, to protect the councils investment? if this goes badly wrong for the PLC, It could possibly go very wrong indeed.
     
  17. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

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    I think it is most unlikley that the matter would end up anywhere near a court
     
  18. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    I think, perhaps not for the first time, a degree of not getting too far ahead of ourselves is in order. Independently verified facts are scarce, so there is lots of vacuum to be filled.

    On the substantive point above though: "then what more would it take for the Council to protect it's own reputation , might they in turn if facing questions be forced to strip the WSR PLC of their lease of the line, to protect the councils investment?" Regardless of the right and wrongs, that's just not how it will work out. The SCC "investment", such as it is, is all sunk money in cash terms: there is negligible chance that will come back, so nothing to "protect". Far more important is the continued existence of the railway as an employer and attractor of inward (tourist) spend into the County. Talk of stripping the plc of the lease to protect the investment is fantasy: just suppose they did - who then would operate the railway? You need to distinguish the plc as an entity from the individuals who currently happen to be directing it.

    Tom
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2020
  19. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    Out of curiousity and given the nature of the contents of the original letter have senior members of all the WSR bodies taken steps to understand the contents of this action ? Are all parties not intrinsically tied ? is there not scenario where members of the WSR family could have to give evidence that may or may not influence the outcome
     
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  20. D1039

    D1039 Guest

    That's not always the case, try Googling "libel no win no fee".

    Patrick
     

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