I’m fed up with talking about the weather, but I can console myself with the fact we have grabbed every opportunity so far and progress is not too bad.Fight goes on for FMD pay-outs
THE legal battle for compensation following last year’s foot-and-mouth outbreak is actively continuing behind the scenes, the NFU’s chief legal adviser has reassured farmers.
In November, lawyers acting on behalf of the NFU sent letters to Merial and the Institute of Animal Health, both based at the Pirbright site from where the virus leaked last summer, outlining the case for compensation for farmers.
Little has been heard about the case since, but the NFU’s Julie Robinson, remains confident it could reach court later this year.
“It may appear to have gone quiet, but that is very typical when you have a complex legal case like this. There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes.
“Essentially it is about getting the claim right before it comes to court and anticipating arguments from the other side,” she said.
Over 1,000 farmers from across the country have contacted the NFU’s legal panel with a view to joining the action, which is being partly funded through the NFU’s Legal Assistance Scheme (LAS).
The key to the case, according to Ms Robinson, is establishing which categories of farmers who suffered economic loss last summer – from those in the locality of the outbreaks to hill farmers hundreds of miles away hit by movement restrictions – are eligible for compensation.
Speaking at an event to highlight the extension of the NFU’s legal panel of firms – from seven to 16 members – she said the case was a good example of how the union is able to harness legal expertise to help groups of farmers who would find it difficult and expensive to fight cases individually.
She highlighted next month’s NFU-backed judicial review challenging the table valuation system for cattle as another example.
The panel firms are offering a discount of 12.5 per cent to NFU members for work relating directly to their businesses as farmers and growers.
Introducing members of the new panel at the NFU’s Stoneleigh headquarters, NFU vice-president Paul Temple said the extension was a ‘very exciting addition to our services for members’, who would now have improved access to specialist legal teams.
He said the firms were selected for ‘both their strength and depth in agricultural matters together with other specialist areas that affect our members’.
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