Intimidation
Rookes v. Barnard 1964 House of Lords
Rookes worked for BOAC (British Airways), he resigned from the Trade Union.
There had been an informal agreement between BOAC and the TU: every employee should belong to the TU.
The employees forced BOAC to dismiss him from his jobs; they striked although there was a no-strike clause in BOAC contracts.
The strike-threatening was an intimidation (new tort).
The judges told the jury to give L 7,500 exemplary damages; the HL brought the case down to L 4,000.
For a tort of intimidation you need:
- threat or force constituting an unlawful act (here: no-strike agreement)
- submission to the threat
- damage (he lost his job)
The case became a 'political football'. Trade Dispute Act (1965) which gave immunity to the TU (Labour government!); but 1974 there was a change. It's also the leading case for aggravated damages.