High Court halts Desmond libel actions

THE HIGH Court has halted five separate libel actions by businessman Dermot Desmond over newspaper articles published more than 10 years ago, including articles alleging the family of late taoiseach Charles Haughey received payments from companies of Mr Desmond.

Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne yesterday ruled Mr Desmond’s inordinate and inexcusable delay since autumn 2000 in prosecuting the actions had moderately prejudiced the ability of Times Newspapers Ltd (TNL) to defend themselves, particularly as the Sunday Times articles related to events in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The judge noted that, despite Mr Desmond’s decision in 2005 to reactivate two other sets of libel proceedings against TNL and Mirror Group Newspapers, having previously accepted legal advice not to prosecute those pending the outcome of the Moriarty tribunal, no step was then taken to reactivate these five actions. She attached “significant weight” to this failure, which occurred notwithstanding Mr Desmond’s statement that his instructions “at all times” were to bring the cases for trial as soon as possible.

The judge ruled that pleas of justification advanced by a defendant in libel proceedings cannot of themselves mean that any defence application to dismiss such proceedings for want of prosecution could never be successful.

While the Supreme Court had permitted Mr Desmond to proceed with a separate libel action against MGN, these five cases differed, as no effort was made since 2000 to progress them, she ruled. Mr Desmond moved to reactivate the MGN case in 2005 after accepting it was no longer appropriate to await the outcome of the Moriarty tribunal.

In light of her findings, Ms Justice Dunne yesterday granted TNL’s application to dismiss the five actions over articles published in the Sunday Times on June 22nd, 1997, January 11th, 1998; February 8th, 1998, February 15th, 1998 and August 8th, 1999.

The judge noted the January 11th, 1998 articles headlined “Telecom cash paid Haughey’s boat bill” and “Just good friends” referred to about IR£75,000 paid to the Haughey family from accounts of Freezone Investments Ltd, a company controlled by Mr Desmond.

The February 8th, 1998 article – “Desmond rescued Haughey’s son’s firm” – referred to a payment of IR£100,000 to cover flying hours for executives made in 1995 by Mr Desmond, through an investment company controlled by him, to Celtic Helicopters Ltd, controlled by Ciaran Haughey.

The February 15th article, “DPP under fire from missed cases”, stated the inspector appointed to investigate issues arising from the Telecom purchase of the Ballsbridge site had found Mr Desmond had given untruthful evidence about his involvement in the transaction.

Mr Desmond had alleged all the articles were published falsely and maliciously. The defendants denied defamation and pleaded justification in certain respects.

Mr Desmond initiated the five actions in 1997, 1998 and 1999. A letter from his solicitors of October 10th, 2000 was the last communication with the defendants. TNL argued the cases had lain dormant since 2000, and they were prejudiced by the delay. They complained as to the possible objective of Mr Desmond in issuing proceedings in order to inhibit them in their reporting of him and his affairs.

Mr Desmond in an affidavit confirmed he accepted legal advice to await the outcome of the Moriarty tribunal, rejected the claim the proceedings were issued to inhibit the defendants’ reporting of his affairs, accepted there had been delay and undertook to prosecute the actions expeditiously.

The delay in prosecuting was inexcusable, and Ms Justice Dunne had to decide whether the balance of justice lay in allowing the actions to proceed or not.

She said it was “somewhat surprising” Mr Desmond chose not to provide further details relating to the legal advice about waiting for the tribunal outcome, and “most surprising”, having decided in late 2005 to revive other libel proceedings, that no steps were taken to revive these five actions.