A Commercial Court dispute between billionaire bloodstock owner John Magnier and his family with the owners of a 751-acre estate in Co Tipperary, which the Magniers say they had an agreement to buy, will be heard in the spring.
Mr Justice Denis McDonald set March 4th next for the hearing of the case over the Barne Estate, near Clonmel. The court heard it would take two weeks to hear.
The court also heard that a row over discovery of documents required for the case had “ameliorated somewhat” in the last week and that hopefully by next October it could be fully resolved. Otherwise, the judge was told, there could be a hearing to resolve any outstanding discovery issues in October.
Last week, the Magnier side complained about attempts by the Barne side to limit the scope of discovery. The Barne side denied the claim.
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The case concerns a claim by Mr Magnier and his children, John Paul Magnier and Kate Wachman, that they had an agreement with the Barne owners to buy the Golden Vale estate for €15 million. The property is held for the benefit of Richard Thomson-Moore, his sister Alexandra, their children, and their spouses by a Jersey trust.
The Magniers have sued the Barne Estate, Mr Thomson-Moore and three companies of IQEQ (Jersey) Ltd seeking that the €15 million deal to buy, which they say was struck on August 22nd last, be completed.
The Barne defendants say there was never any such agreement and subsequently they agreed to sell the estate for €22.5 million to construction magnate Maurice Regan, founder of the New York building firm JT Magen.
A counterclaim has also been filed for slander of title, alleging the Magnier proceedings and the filing of a legal question mark over dealings in the property, known as a lis pendens, was preventing the owners from selling it to Mr Regan.
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