A gardener who was paralysed after falling off a ladder while trimming a multimillionaire couple’s trees has lost his High Court bid for more than £1 million in compensation.
Barry Relph, 59, fell from the step ladder while clearing branches from a conifer overlooking the John and Joanna Meager’s tennis court at the couple’s £2.3 million Surrey Home.
Mr Relph cracked his spine in the fall in January 2021, which has left him paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair.
He sued the couple for more than £1 million in compensation, arguing that if the couple had spent a ‘few hundred pounds’ on a trained tree surgeon, it could have prevented his injury.
However his compensation bid was thrown out last week after Judge Andrew Kinnier KC ruled that Mr Relph had not in fact been employed by the couple, but was a freelancer who worked on a part-time basis for the couple.
Mr Relph and the colleague he was working with were also experienced gardeners, who had come up with their own plan for how to do the work, he ruled.
The court heard Mr Relph and his colleague had been working at the Meagers’ then home, Oak Lodge, a sprawling £2.3 million gated property with extensive gardens, swimming pool and tennis court in Chipstead, Surrey.
Mr Relph has no memory of the accident, but his colleague said a branch fell from the tree and struck his step ladder, causing it to shake which unbalanced Mr Relph.
Barry Relph, 59, was paralysed after falling off a stepladder while trimming trees
Claiming over £1 million in damages, his barrister Stephen Killalea KC blamed the Meagers for not hiring a properly trained specialist to do the work.
‘Working with trees is a fundamentally hazardous activity and that’s why specialist contractors do the work,’ the barrister told the judge.
Mr Meager is head of client operations at investment management firm Coremont, with a background in a range of financial areas including asset and hedge fund management.
Mr Killalea added: ‘It should clearly have been conducted by a specialist. It might have cost several hundred pounds to have done so, but that’s the price it takes to maintain a property of that magnificence.’
However, lawyers for the couple argued that they could not be held liable for the accident, because Mr Relph was not an employee of theirs, while also denying any negligence.
In his verdict, the judge dismissed Mr Relph’s claim.
Dealing with the issue of negligence, the judge found that both men were experienced gardeners who provided their own equipment and ‘devised their own system of work’.
‘Both men were clear that the job didn’t require a specialist tree surgeon or any form of specialist assistance,’ he said.
Owners of the £2.3 million Oak Lodge Joanna and John Meager outside the High Court
Also ruling against Mr Relph on his employment status, the judge decided he had worked as a freelancer, not an employee.
Although he had worked at Oak Lodge for two years, it was on a part-time basis, while Mr Relph provided his own tools and was free to work for others.
He also received his pay from his fellow gardener, who was paid by the Meagers, and both men were left free to plan their own ‘system of work,’ including deciding the timing and execution of the branch clearing.
Backing the Meagers’ case, the judge said Mr Relph had failed to prove he was employed by the couple.
He added: ‘I am satisfied that the weight of the evidence points clearly towards a finding that Mr Relph and [his colleague] were both independent contractors.
‘They were not the Meagers’ employees.
‘Although I recognise this decision will come as a bitter disappointment for Mr Relph given the tragic consequences of his accident, on the basis of the evidence his claim must be dismissed.’
