The bitter legal dispute over who owns popular Liverpool night out Bongo's Bingo will not conclude until next year, it has emerged.
At Manchester's High Court on Friday, lawyers representing both Jonny Bongo and Baltic Triangle venue Camp and Furnace issued their final submissions ahead of a judgement being made over who has the right to stage the popular event.
Baltic Triangle venue Camp wants exclusive rights to hold Bongo's Bingo events on Merseyside, and has demanded a share of profit from Shua Ltd – the firm run by Mr Lacey and his colleague, Joshua Burke.
Shua remains adamant that Mr Lacey and Mr Burke “conceived and designed” the brand, and want to prevent Camp itself from hosting the events here.
The pair initially launched the nights while the latter was working at Camp, but Mr Burke left the firm in 2015 to take the event 'on the road'.
It's now become a huge success at major venues across the 海角视频 – being played as far afield as Dubai and Australia.
Representing Camp in court on Friday, Neil Berragan QC said it was "not in dispute" that Bongo's Bingo was Mr Burke's concept.
He said: "It's his idea, that is the genesis of this. As it happens there was already a similar event established in London in 2014.
Most Read
"All that means is it's not an original idea - but an idea therefore that Mr Burke claimed credit for bringing to Camp and Furnace. It was his idea and he who contacted Mr Lacey, and together they worked it up.
"But we had control of events, and he promoted them in his role as our events manager. The equipment was being bought on our behalf, the fuel was bought on our behalf.
"Bongo's Bingo was an entirely new concept. Held for first time at Camp's premises, it was an idea conceived by Mr Burke, and would not have taken place had Mr Burke not provided the idea, and Camp provided the facilities."
Mr Berragan also said there were "serious issues" about Mr Burke's credibility.
That was in part, he said, due to the Shua founder saying in his witness statement he was a Camp employee at the time, before "trying to argue" in his oral evidence that he was not.
Representing Shua, Paul Chaisty QC said those allegations were "unjustified and unfounded" - and that Mr Burke had given evidence in a "perfectly clear and fair way".
The case, which began in September running over two separate weeks, previously heard that an agreement was made between Camp officials and Mr Burke back in 2015, that the venue would have a 15% "stake" of the events held outside of Liverpool.
Don’t miss
Despite evidence having concluded back in September for the case, a fresh dispute emerged on Friday over whether that agreement had been "binding" - as a physical contract was not written up.
Mr Chaisty said Camp was "constantly shifting the sands" in terms of who owns the rights to stage the event.
He said: "Why would you need exclusivity in Liverpool if you already own the brand?
"They say they own the brand yet none of the emails [provided to the court] are consistent.
"Every opportunity throughout 2015, '16 and '17 to assert ownership, and it's not until they go to see a solicitor, and the solicitors say to them 'hang on a second, have you never thought about owning the brand? Let's argue that he was an employee'.
"Beyond that, what else did Camp and Furnace do? They contributed nothing towards the artistic value of the event. They are just a venue."
He said when the event began, Camp and Furnace was struggling, adding: "It was desperate for them. Camp and Furnace was doing nothing on Thursday nights.
"A young man turned up and bought with him Mr Lacey. Together, they put on these events and all that Camp and Furnace did was what they do with any promotion - they provided the hall. Obviously they turned the lights on and provided the sound system - that's what they do.
"They took a bit of a gamble by providing some finance - but it was the best £200 investment they had made in their lives. They made millions by providing accommodation and a bar, and they made their money that way.
Want more business news straight to your inbox?
BusinessLive is your home for business news from around the country - and you can stay in touch with all the latest news through our email alerts.
You can sign up to receive morning news bulletins from every region we cover and to weekly email bulletins covering key economic sectors from manufacturing to technology and enterprise. And we'll send out breaking news alerts for any stories we think you can't miss.
Visit our email preference centre to sign up to all the latest news from BusinessLive.
"The fact they paid the host, it's no different to what happens anywhere else in the country. There is nothing to suggest they own the goodwill.
"It's clear beyond doubt that we own the goodwill not Camp and Furnace. [Their] claim to own the goodwill is desperately weak."
Arguing that Camp have the exclusive right to all Bongo's Bingo events in Liverpool, Mr Berragan said: "There had been an agreement we would have exclusivity in Liverpool. Shua's way round that is to say that we waived that entitlement.
"They plead an agreement to waive but there is no evidence and no attempt to show it was agreed.
"Shua Ltd must not have the right to hold Bongo's Bingo events elsewhere in Liverpool without our permission."
Mr Berragan further argued that there is a "distinction" between Jonny Bongo hosting his own events and Bongo's Bingo, because Shua have since trained other hosts.
He said: "There are other people who present the event that are not Jonny Bongo. The name is the name that was coined for this particular event because he was the first presenter of it.
"His act is separate from the event. That must be the case."
A final judgement is expected to be made in January or February.
The case continues.