 The House of Lords, acting as the highest court of appeal, held that the threat of strike action was unlawful intimidation.The Trades Union Congress was concerned that the case would set a precedent for lawsuits against trade unions in a wide range of circumstances.Civil law had been one of the main tools employers used against unions in their early days until the Trade Disputes Act 1906 gave unions immunity from certain torts (including conspiracy) when taken in pursuit of an industrial dispute.