Steiny bought the switchboard from respondent California Electric Supply Company. The switchboard was manufactured by Cutler Hammer, Inc.
The switchboard exploded two days after it was powered up, causing a 16 hour power outage.
Hughes sued Morley for damages to Hughes' business caused by the power interruption. Morley sued Steiny for indemnity against damages Morley was required to pay Hughes. Steiny sued Morley for withholding $412,000 in payment for Steiny's work, claiming interest on its damages "at the maximum legal rate." Steiny also sued California for supplying defective switchboard equipment. Steiny alleged breach of the express warranties of merchantability and fitness for intended use.
Morley agreed to pay $477,896 to settle with Hughes.
California and Cutler propounded discovery seeking information about the basis for the Hughes-Morley settlement, and about Hughes' damages fromHe arrived in a Mercedes C-Class with some kind of McLaren signage down its flanks, I remember that much. And he wasn't driving. The reason why Lewis Hamilton wasn't driving was that he didn't hold a driving licence but, such was his fame as The Next Big Thing, he had been invited to come and compete in something called The Autocar Sideways Challenge.

The first Hamilton-Harris meet. Nice trainers

Now, The Sideways Challenge was the rather excellent by-product of a pub conversation between my two friends and colleagues Steve Sutcliffe and Colin Goodwin. Its aim was to take professional drivers from different disciplines, throw them in a powerful rear-wheel drive car and to investigate instinctive car control. Yes, it was a flawed method of assessment, and, yes, success was rather