Chichester District Council (19 012 364)
Category : Other Categories > Commercial and contracts
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 11 Dec 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council stole his business idea. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take the matter to court.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council stole his business initiative and has ruined his business.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I reviewed Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s response. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and considered his comments.
What I found
- Mr X made an offer to the Council to rent a business premises it owns to deliver his business initiative. He complaints the Council refused his offer but stole the business idea for itself. He says this has ruined his business and cost him more than £35,000. However he suggests the Council’s idea will not be successful.
- The Council says Mr X’s offer was not acceptable and that it had already begun work on its own initiative prior to Mr X’s contact. It has explained its idea is different to Mr X’s and has noted his comments about its prospects of success.
- Mr X wants the Council to pay him £35,000 in compensation but says he is willing to accept £7,000 if the matter is resolved quickly. The Council has declined to make any offer for Mr X’s claimed current and future losses.
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. Mr X presented his idea to the Council as part of his offer to rent its business premises. If he believes the Council has stolen his intellectual property, and that this has resulted in financial loss, it would be reasonable for him to take the matter to court.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take the matter to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman