THE owner of a Glasgow plastics factory hit by an explosion that killed nine people has lost a legal battle to force one of its suppliers to help with the compensation bill.
ICL Plastics Ltd wanted Johnston Oils to make a contribution to payments given to those injured in the blast at the Stockline Factory in Maryhill in May 2004.
Johnston Oils supplied ICL Plastics with liquid petroleum gas (LPG), a chemical used in the manufacturing process at the factory.
The LPG was stored in underground pipes, which leaked due to their poor condition.
Health and Safety experts concluded that the leaks from the pipes caused the deadly explosion.
Lawyers acting for ICL told the Court Of Session that Johnston Oils had a duty to inspect and maintain the faulty pipes. However, judges disagreed, saying the plant owner was responsible for the upkeep of the piping.
In a written judgement, judge Lord Hodge said Stockline bosses had previously ignored warnings about the conditions of the underground pipes.
He wrote: "I am not persuaded the pursuers have established that, if Johnston Oils advised them in 1998 or 2002 to investigate the state of the underground pipes, they would have acted in a way which would have averted the tragedy."
The ICL Plastics factory exploded in 2004. Two company directors were among the nine victims, while 33 people were injured, 15 seriously. Many were buried under tons of rubble, with the body of the final victim being pulled out of the wreckage three days later.
Experts concluded the blast happened because of LPG escaping from leaky underground pipes. The presence of LPG in the air caused the explosion.
An inquiry, chaired by Lord Gill in 2009, found the tragedy was an "avoidable disaster". ICL Plastics and ICL Tech pled guilty in August 2007 to health and safety breaches. Each was fined £200,000.
The companies were later sued by an injured employee, Archibald Lindsay, and ICL Plastics Ltd went to the Court Of Session this year in an attempt to recover a contribution from Johnston Oils towards the compensation payment of £191,451.
The court heard the action was a 'test' case for payments to other people who were caught up in the blast. Lawyers argued Johnston Oils was legally obliged to contribute towards payments. But the court heard Johnston Oils only started to supply ICL with LPG in February 1998.
It also heard the Health and Safety Executive had warned ICL about the conditions of its pipes in the years before 1998.
Lord Hodge wrote: "The pursuers took no steps to monitor, inspect and maintain the underground pipeline after they received a clear warning from the Health and Safety Executive in 1989.
"It was not the practice of suppliers to give their commercial customers advice on the maintenance of the pipework and gas supply system which the customers owned.
"The central issue in this case is whether the common law duty of care of such suppliers, and in particular Johnston Oils, for the safety of people in the vicinity of the gas supply system imposed on the suppliers duties to inquire about the condition of the customer's pipework and to give unsolicited advice to the customer to investigate and maintain it.
"I conclude Johnston Oils did not owe the duties of care to the injured parties on which the pursuers have built their case."
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