Chapter 44
At last, ten o'clock drew nigh and everyone in the Stratos case was called into court, in readiness for the judge’s entry.
All of the documents bundles had been delivered and arranged the day before so that everyone could follow the evidence together. There was a general mood of expectation in the courtroom as if something was about to happen and the conversation was hushed.
Suddenly, in a theatrical sweep, someone knocked at a side door, the usher shouted : “Silence, be upstanding.” The door drew open, the judge strode in stage-right in the black robes of a Queen's Counsel and wearing a short wig. He stepped up to the presiding seat below a huge Victorian lion, unicorn and coat of arms, made a short bow to everyone which was returned, then sat down, blew his nose loudly, looked around the room with a scowl and opened his note-book in which he recorded what the witnesses said.
Mr Justice Hedley was a heavy, thick-set man with jet black hair, rimless glasses, a five o'clock shadow and a withering stare. He was one of those nail-biting, nit-picking, easily irritated, pedantic, impatient judges who are bored very easily.
Montague Ransome QC, the ‘senior’ barrister for Hellas Global stood up, cleared his throat and was about to launch into his Opening Submissions which had taken him two days to write.
Diving in ahead of Ransome, the judge said “Before you start, I must say I am more than surprised that both parties have been unable to reach some accommodation. Is there any reason for that ?”
This was a favourite tactic which sometimes worked.
In a roundabout way, Hedley was asking why the case was there at all as it appeared to him to be a complete waste of time. (In fairness to Plantation, he thought that about every case, as do all judges who achieve a remarkable transformation when appointed to the bench and are no longer paid by the hour to advise. One might say they achieve a Damascene conversion from tax collectors to apostles of righteousness.)
“There has been some discussion, my Lord between both sides however nothing conclusive was arrived at, hence our appearance before your Lordship today.”
“Well, at least a start may have been made. Let's see how far we get but I do warn everyone that I’m not prepared to let things drift along without some intervention by me to move them in the right direction.”
Again, this was a warning that unless Ashby was eventually willing to give in, the judge would cut the hearing short and give his verdict then and there in favour of Hellas Global. (It was a hollow threat : if Plantation had no defence, then there should have been no hearing in the first place.)
At any rate, none of these ‘signals’ were lost on Meredith and Riordan. They were passed on to Ashby in a series of notes in between scribbling down everything which either the judge or anyone else said and despite the presence of a transcript writer. The urgency of being able to quote what the judge or a witness said earlier in the day was something at least to justify the hours of tedium.
“You’re appearing without a ‘leader’, Mr Riordan ?” (‘Leader’ meant ‘leading counsel’ or Queen’s Counsel. The judge was questioning whether, despite Riordan’s fifteen years as an advocate, he was still in short trousers and competent to do the job on his own. The laws of England have the habit of doubling or tripling advocates where possible and hang the expense.)
“Quite so, my Lord. I do hope your Lordship will be patient with me.”
“Patient with you but not your client if he insists on prolonging matters without good reason,” was the terse response.
For the next three hours, by which time everyone had almost fallen asleep, Ransome monotonously dissected every facet of the contract negotiated between Black and the brokers : not a scintilla of doubt remained that a proper marine insurance contract was in place. Next, he went through the contract terms and how these had been fulfilled by the shipowners but ignored by Plantation. Lastly, he summarised how the ship had gone down, with everyone on board and the loss of cargo (but omitted to add that there was no actual proof of that having happened).
At that juncture, the judge intervened.
“There appears to be no dispute between both sides about the contract itself or how it was carried out and that the premium was paid. Is that correct ?”
Both Ransome and Riordan agreed.
“Thus the entire case boils down to why the ship sank, how it sank and what happened to everyone and everything on board at the time. Who is your first witness, Mr Garrick ?” (Ransome QC by this time was clearly tired out and needed to pass the hack work to his ‘junior’ colleague.)
“My Lord, we will call Mr Vratsis Elefthriou, the managing director of Hellas Global Shipping Line of Piraeus, Athens.”
Plantation A Legal Thriller Page 44