GUINNESS STARTS COURT ACTION AGAINST SAUNDERS Guinness Plc <GUIN.L> said it has started court proceedings against former chairman and chief executive Ernest Saunders and non-executive director Thomas Ward for recovery of 5.2 mln stg. The money was paid to Ward via Marketing and Acquisition Consultants Ltd in Jersey. Guinness said earlier it would propose a resolution at the annual meeting in May to remove Saunders and Ward as directors of the company. Earlier this month, lawyers for Ward told a Jersey court that Ward saw the payment as his reward for services in last year's takeover battle for <Distillers Co Plc>. Guinness has said that both men breached their fiduciary duty in authorising the payment. Saunders resigned from his executive positions at Guinness in January in the aftermath of a government enquiry into share dealings during the battle for Distillers but retained his position on the board. No spokesman for Guinness was immediately available for comment on the statement.