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The Peckham Echo
The Trotter family outside Peckham court yesterday
Brewery win Court settlement
Albert Trotter, a local pensioner who last week injured himself after falling down a cellar hatch outside the Nags Head public House, failed yesterday in his bid to sue the brewery for negligence.
Trotter, from Dockside Estate, Peckham suffered minor injuries whilst falling down the open cellar hatch last Thursday.
Trotter lost the court case yesterday after the brewery's representative Mr Gerrard produced evidence that showed that the plaintiff had previously fell down 15 cellars in the past in order to receive compensation from brewery's.
Mr Gerrard read out details of 15 previous lawsuits that Mr Trotter had been involved in, dating back to 1946 when the pensioner received £100 in compensation for falling down the cellar of the Victoria Inn, Portsmouth.
Mr Trotter's two nephews Derek Trotter and Rodney Trotter also gave evidence during the brief trial yesterday and it is believed that at least one of the men will be prosecuted for contempt of court.
The brewery issued a short statement yesterday which read ' We are very happy with the outcome of this trial and we believe that the correct verdict was awarded in the end. We offered Mr Trotter a £2,000 out of court settlement late last week but unfortunately for the plaintiff he didn't accept what we thought to be a very genuine offer.' Mr Gerrard, who read the statement ended by saying ' We feel for Mr Trotter and are very upset by what has happened but we feel that justice was done in the end.'
Evidence emerged during the trial that Mr Trotter had undergone basic parachute training whilst serving with the navy in 1944 and so knew how to land correctly when falling.
Nephew, Derek Trotter looked furious as he left the courthouse yesterday afternoon but after taking time to calm down he spoke to our reporter. ' I am unhappy with today's events and I will be speaking with my lawyer tomorrow morning. If the brewery think this matter is over then they are very much mistaken, I will not give up without a fight, no way Pedro.'