A British court action that established the principle that trade unions could be sued for damages. Following a strike by railwaymen employed by the Taff Vale Railway Company, the company sued the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants for loss of revenue. The House of Lords, on appeal, awarded the company damages and costs. The resentment felt by workers at this contravention of the Trade Union Act of 1871, which had, they thought, established the immunity of union funds, was an important factor in the increased support given to the Labour Party. The Trade Disputes Act, passed in 1906, effectively reversed the decision by exempting trade unions from this type of action; this remained the situation until the Trade Union Act of 1984, which permitted employers to seek redress if a strike was called without certain preconditions (such as a secret ballot) having been met.