DC Thomson & Co Ltd v Deakin Ch 646 is a UK labour law case concerned with the right to strike and the law of tortious interference.
Facts The National Society of Operative Printers and Assistants (NATSOPA) wished to pressure on DC Thomson & Co Ltd to accept the union for collective bargaining. It persuaded TGWU drivers to disrupt its supply of paper.
Judgment Jenkins LJ accepted in principle the possibility of a trade union being liable to an employer if a strike meant that a commercial contract would be cut off. However on the facts, there was not enough for liability.
Significance The legal arguments adopted in this case are a leading example of the so-called "unified theory", now abandoned, which treats all forms of interference with contractual relations by unlawful means as the same overall form of wrong.Hoffmann, L., in OBG Limited and others (Appellants) v. Allan and others (Respondents), paragraph 26ff, delivered on 2 May 2007, accessed on 27 July 2025
See also
United Kingdom labour law
References