The applicants, dairy farmers, sought judicial review of a decision by the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal confirming their violation of a milk marketing regulation and imposing penalties including quota and licence cancellations.
The applicants argued that an ongoing appeal stayed the regulation's operation.
The Divisional Court held that the stay did not suspend the validly enacted regulation and upheld the finding of liability.
However, the court found the penalty of licence cancellation and forced sale of remaining quota to be disproportionate and unjust, varying the penalty to only a partial cancellation of quota.
