The decision of the Irish Permanent and its former managing director to settle their actions after just a couple of days of hearings means that that the court did not get the chance to pick a winner, in what many hoped would be the corporate heavyweight contest of the year.

Both sides will no doubt believe that they won on points, but the real driving force behind a settlement will have been the desire to avoid a long, bitter and very costly court battle.

In the weeks leading up to the case, both the Irish Permanent and Dr Farrell will have run up legal bills of at least £350,000 each. Both will pay their own costs as part of the settlement. But the two sides will also avoid the risk of being landed with the enormous costs which would have been chalked up if the hearing went for the predicted three months. Total costs of a case of this length could easily have amounted to £1.5 million apiece.

For the Irish Permanent, the cost of continuing the case would not only have been financial, but would also have been levied in a heavy input of management time. And however much it was clear that the events being outlined took place under a previous board and management, the washing of dirty linen would not have been welcome.

The legal battle goes back to Dr Farrell's dismissal as executive chairman from the Irish Permanent in mid-1993, shortly after the current chief executive, Mr Roy Douglas, was appointed. The public flotation of the society took place in October 1994. But if the case had run its full term the actions of the previous board of the Irish Permanent and the arrangements they entered into with Dr Farrell would have been the subject of close examination.

The Irish Permanent, of course, is choosing not to pursue Dr Farrell, despite the allegations it outlined against him in court earlier this week. The Permanent alleged that Dr Farrell and the adviser, Mr Kelvin Smythe, got involved in a number of transactions which were "devices to extract money" from the company. However the Irish Permanent's case is continuing today against the financial consultant, Mr Smythe, in relation to money held in trust from the sale of a lodge in Lough Corrib and in relation to another transaction known as the "restrictive covenant transaction", which the society alleged was a way of obtaining funds to refurbish Grasmere.

As with all such settlements, there is something for both sides. The Irish Permanent is understood to have agreed to release Dr Farrell's £800,000 pension fund, which had been frozen. This would be sufficient, for example, to give Dr Farrell a lump sum and an annual pension of some £50,000. Dr Farrell also keeps his home in Foxrock which some sources believe could be worth up to £2 million, including development potential.

However in court in 1996 the Bank of Ireland secured a charge for more than £218,000 plus interest in relation to Grasmere. Allowing for interest in the meantime, this charge is likely to be now valued at some £260,000.

This effectively gives the bank first call on the first £260,000 of any funds from the sale of Grasmere. It is, of course, a matter for Dr Farrell as to how he discharges any debts to the bank, his legal bill and the sums owing to the Irish Permanent.

The Irish Permanent, in addition to a payment of £50,000 immediately from Dr Farrell, will get a further £100,000 from him within five years. The latter payment would be triggered immediately if Grasmere is sold. The Permanent will also take possession of a condominium in Boston, worth around £100,000, which had been purchased with funds which went through an offshore company called Viraldi.

No doubt the fact that the case ended earlier will disappoint the corporate voyeurs who had hoped for weeks of interesting testimony. But the Irish Permanent will be glad that its lengthy battle with Dr Farrell is over.