Lawyers for some of Mr Larry Goodman's meat companies have told the Master of the High Court the State has no evidence to back its claims that the Goodman business committed fraud when it was granted £80 million (€102 million) in export credit insurance in 1988.
The State claims the Goodman firms gave warranties to the Insurance Corporation of Ireland (under administration), acting for the then Department of Industry and Commerce, that beef being exported to Iraq was from the Republic when, it is alleged, the Goodman firms knew up to 40 per cent came from elsewhere.
Yesterday, Mr Ian Finlay SC, for the companies, argued the court would not have to decide where the meat came from as it was now admitted that all sides knew it came not only from the Republic but also from Northern Ireland, Uruguay and Brazil.
Mr Finlay asked Master Edmond Honohan to reject the State's request for the production by the Goodman companies of certain categories of documents. He argued the State was on a "fishing expedition" and was hoping to find evidence of fraud in the documents. Among the documents being sought were papers relating to meetings which Mr Goodman had had with former Government members including Mr Austin Deasy, Mr John Bruton, Mr Garrett FitzGerald, Mr Albert Reynolds and Mr Charles Haughey.
The Master said he would give a decision on April 16th on the State's application. The State claims it requires the documents to prepare its defence against a claim for £80 million, plus costs and damages, being made by three firms in the Goodman Group.
The firms initiated the action 12 years ago after the then Minister for Industry and Commerce, Mr Desmond O'Malley cancelled insurance policies which had been taken out with the Insurance Corporation of Ireland plc (under administration) in 1989. The claim followed the decision of Iraqi banks, during the Iraqi war, to refuse to pay for meat exported to Iraq by Anglo Irish Beef Processors (International) Ltd.
The insurance policy was intended to protect the Goodman group if its client, the Iraqi government, defaulted. Iraq's failure to pay the firms and the subequent voiding of the insurance policy by Mr O'Malley contributed to the collapse of the Goodman empire in 1990. Mr Goodman regained control of the group in 1999.
Mr Finlay said there was no proposition that, merely because a party claimed there had been fraud, it was entitled to discover documents to which it would not otherwise be entitled.
The issue between the parties had always been the sourcing of the beef, counsel said. The State was seeking not only the incorporation documents of the Goodman meat companies named in the action but also those of two other companies, Mourne Holdings and Kissavos Ltd. These were being sought to ascertain they were all members of the same group.
Mr Finlay said his clients would deny they had expressly represented that all beef supplied under letters of credit was or would be produced in the Republic. His clients would have made discovery of documents in relation to matters at issue but the Master should refuse an order for the discovery of an entire category of documents unless satisfied that the entire category was relevant, counsel argued.
