Master Meats 15-year dispute settled

HIGH COURT: A Multimillion euro legal battle, dating back 15 years and involving the founder of Master Meat Packers group Mr Paschal Phelan, his former Jordanian partner Mr Zakaria el Taher and Mr Larry Goodman was finally settled at the High Court yesterday.

No details of the settlement were given to the court and Mr Justice Murphy was asked merely to strike out all claims with no orders.

The actions arose from what Mr Phelan alleged was a conspiracy between Mr Taher and Mr Goodman to secretly take over Master Meats in 1987 and force Mr Phelan out of the companies.

Last week, in a surprise development, the main part of the four actions involving Mr Phelan and Mr Goodman were settled. Those actions had been running for some 10 months and were expected to last well into this year. However, proceedings by Mr Phelan against Mr Taher remained, with Mr Goodman also involved in those because of indemnity claims against him by Mr Zakaria el Taher and his son, Mr Naser el Taher, and Mr Goodman's own claim for indemnity against Mr Zakaria el Taher.

Yesterday, the court was scheduled to deal with a motion in which Mr Phelan was seeking judgment for almost £20 million (€25.4 million) against Mr Zakaria el Taher, with an address at the Taher Residence, Abou Joura Street, Amman, Jordan.

However, after talks between the parties, the judge was told by Mr Brian O'Moore SC, for Mr Phelan, that the claims were settled. Counsel said the only orders required were to strike out the claims in the various actions, which also involved a number of Master Meat companies, and also to strike out the claims for indemnity.

In the actions involving Mr Phelan and the Tahers, Mr Phelan was seeking multimillion euro damages in relation to the alleged conspiracy between Mr Taher and Mr Goodman to force him out of Master Meats. Mr Zakaria el Taher and Mr Goodman both denied any wrongdoing but both men made several claims against each other.

Mr Taher, who is now 82, was claiming Mr Goodman had acted fraudulently and had used Mr Taher as a tool.

Mr Taher, claimed that, because he feared losing indemnities given by Mr Goodman to him in 1987, he had acted only reluctantly as an agent for Mr Goodman. He claimed Mr Goodman had betrayed him.

Mr Goodman denied any allegations of wrongdoing.

Last week, in seeking to adjourn for some three weeks the motion by Mr Phelan against Mr Zakaria el Taher, Mr Brian Dempsey SC, for the Tahers, argued his client was very unwell and under great stress as a result of the legal proceedings.

The settlement between Mr Goodman and Mr Phelan last week had come very suddenly and unexpectedly and added to the stress, counsel said.

Mr Dempsey also produced a medical report stating Mr Taher was suffering from a light stroke and other problems and should be shielded from business and other interruptions for some three weeks. He added the matters raised in the motion were very complex.

Mr O'Moore, for Mr Phelan, and Mr Dermot Gleeson SC, for Mr Goodman, strongly objected to any further adjournment of the hearing of the motion. Both argued that, in the 10 months of the hearing of the legal actions involving the three men and others, Mr Taher's side had failed on several occasions to meet deadlines for the production of documents, which had delayed the hearing of the actions.