Waste management business wins court battle

WASTE management business Augean has won its High Court battle with the previous owners of HiTech, a business it acquired in 2008.

The previous owners have been ordered by the court to pay Augean £840,000 and a proportion of its legal costs, currently estimated in the region of £600,000, subject to assessment if not agreed.

Wetherby-based Augean had lodged a claim of up to £2.5m against the previous owners, based on alleged breach of warranties contained in the sale and purchase agreement for the HiTech transaction.

The defendants lodged a counterclaim relating to non-payment of a potential earn-out payment of up to £700,000 following the transfer of the business.

The counterclaim was not upheld.

The trial began on April 29 and completed on May 19 and the judgment was handed down last week.

The defendants were not granted leave to appeal the findings by the court but do still have the option to seek permission to appeal the findings to the Court of Appeal in England.

Augean, which is named after the stables that, in Greek mythology, Hercules laboured to clear out, was advised on the litigation and the HiTech transaction by Walker Morris.