Derek Ashdown of Ashdown Printing Machinery won the case, which related to problems with delivering a 600,000 press to an Australian customer, against Bradford-based Cougar Freight Services (CFS).

Ashdown sued CFS after it refused to pay additional expenses incurred by problems with containers which did not turn up at a freight depot near Paris in October 2002.

Ashdown's customer had travelled from Australia to witness the loading of the five-colour B1 Komori press at the depot close to Charles de Gaulle airport as a condition of the deal.

After CFS agreed over the telephone to cover the costs of sorting the matter out, Ashdown ran up a bill of 8,000 for flights and accommodation for the customer and engineers.

But CFS later cited a clause in its contract saying it was not liable for extra costs, however they were incurred, and refused to pay.
After sittings in York County Court and Leeds County Court, Judge Terry Walsh ruled in Ashdown's favour and ordered CFS to pay undisclosed damages and Ashdown's legal fees.

Ashdown, who employs one person and had a turnover last year of 4.5m, said that the two-year case had been "very stressful" and had cost "many thousands of pounds".

"I was told that our costs would be honoured and when push came to shove it wasn't to be. I had the terms and conditions thrown in my face but your word is your bond and that's it," he said.
Cougar Freight Services director Howard Grainger said: "Everything we did was by the letter of the law. If we'd had the resources to appeal, we would have."

Chris Thomson-Smith, an associate in the litigation department of York law firm Denison Till, who acted for Ashdown, said: "It is unprecedented as far as I'm concerned that a judge would set aside written terms and condition of business on the circumstances we have in this case."

But he added: "I would advise clients that they still need to get agreements like this in writing. The standard rules still apply."

Story by Josh Brooks