[Jersey] Court of Appeal overturns £3.5m judgment against Coop

The Channel Islands Coop has won its appeal in the Jersey Court of Appeal against a ruling that it must pay £3.5m compensation to its former chief executive over the way he was allegedly forced out of the business, Guernsey Press reports.

The High Court overturned a Royal Court judgment which had found the Coop liable for the alleged psychiatric injury suffered by Colin MacLeod, who led the society from 2010 until his employment ended in June 2020.

In December 2025, the Royal Court found the Coop had breached its duty of care to Mr MacLeod - who joined the society in 1990 aged 20 as a management trainee and worked his way to the top - foreseeably causing psychiatric injury and substantial loss of earnings, and awarded the damages.

The three appeal judges reportedly did not clear the Coop of wrongdoing in their judgment. They upheld the lower court’s findings in full, including that three former directors – Jennifer Carnegie and Guernsey-based Carol Champion and Paula Williams – had acted in ‘bad faith’ in what was described as a ‘deliberate campaign’ to remove him.

However, the narrower question was whether it was reasonably foreseeable that such treatment would cause a psychiatric illness and the judges concluded that it was not.

The ruling reportedly means the compensation award falls away.

The appeal succeeded on that point; therefore the judges stated that the amount Mr MacLeod was owed was now academic. Had it mattered, they would have returned the case to the Royal Court to decide how much of his loss flowed from the dismissal itself.

Mr MacLeod had already settled a tribunal claim for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination in 2021, receiving just over £200,000.

He received £600,000 of the £3.5m. award earlier this year to pay outstanding legal fees, repay loans from his parents and fund his defence of the appeal.

The earlier Royal Court judgment authorising the payment had reportedly recorded that Mr MacLeod was “clear that if the appeal was successful he would have to repay this sum”.

The court acknowledged that repaying the money following a successful appeal would require the sale of his home.

In addition, the judges suggested that Jersey’s employment laws be reviewed and were critical of the ‘lack of discipline’ in the Coop’s 150-page written submissions.

Source: Guernsey Press

The Channel Islands Coop has won its appeal in the Jersey Court of Appeal against a ruling that it must pay £3.5m compensation to its former chief executive over the way he was allegedly forced out of the business, Guernsey Press reports.

The High Court overturned a Royal Court judgment which had found the Coop liable for the alleged psychiatric injury suffered by Colin MacLeod, who led the society from 2010 until his employment ended in June 2020.

In December 2025, the Royal Court found the Coop had breached its duty of care to Mr MacLeod - who joined the society in 1990 aged 20 as a management trainee and worked his way to the top - foreseeably causing psychiatric injury and substantial loss of earnings, and awarded the damages.

The three appeal judges reportedly did not clear the Coop of wrongdoing in their judgment. They upheld the lower court’s findings in full, including that three former directors – Jennifer Carnegie and Guernsey-based Carol Champion and Paula Williams – had acted in ‘bad faith’ in what was described as a ‘deliberate campaign’ to remove him.

However, the narrower question was whether it was reasonably foreseeable that such treatment would cause a psychiatric illness and the judges concluded that it was not.

The ruling reportedly means the compensation award falls away.

The appeal succeeded on that point; therefore the judges stated that the amount Mr MacLeod was owed was now academic. Had it mattered, they would have returned the case to the Royal Court to decide how much of his loss flowed from the dismissal itself.

Mr MacLeod had already settled a tribunal claim for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination in 2021, receiving just over £200,000.

He received £600,000 of the £3.5m. award earlier this year to pay outstanding legal fees, repay loans from his parents and fund his defence of the appeal.

The earlier Royal Court judgment authorising the payment had reportedly recorded that Mr MacLeod was “clear that if the appeal was successful he would have to repay this sum”.

The court acknowledged that repaying the money following a successful appeal would require the sale of his home.

In addition, the judges suggested that Jersey’s employment laws be reviewed and were critical of the ‘lack of discipline’ in the Coop’s 150-page written submissions.

Source: Guernsey Press