An Irish payroll manager who admitted to “spying” on his own firm for a rival company has avoided punishment for “blatantly” contravening orders of the High Court.
Keith O’Brien had faced the possibility of going to jail for contempt of court orders made by Mr Justice Mark Sanfey – namely, destroying a phone he had been ordered by the court to preserve.
Rippling, a US-headquartered multibillion-dollar HR software provider, brought High Court proceedings against its former employee Mr O’Brien last month claiming the Dublin man passed trade secrets to Deel – a Rippling rival, and also a multibillion dollar firm – while working at Rippling’s Temple Bar office.
Rippling moved a contempt of court motion against Mr O’Brien when, after the proceedings were served on him, he failed to hand over his phone in breach of court orders.
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Mr O’Brien subsequently admitted to destroying the phone with an axe, and disposing of it in a drain at his mother-in-law’s house.
After receiving legal advice, Mr O’Brien began co-operating with Rippling’s legal team, and has taken “serious and genuine” steps to remedy the consequences of his conduct, the court heard on Thursday.
Referring to an independent report compiled by solicitor Michael Coonan, Mr Justice Sanfey said there was no purpose served by making an order that would punish Mr O’Brien.
The judge said Mr O’Brien took actions that were “blatantly” in contravention of court orders, adding that his conduct has “done damage” to the litigation and caused difficulty for his ex-employers Rippling.
The judge noted the element of “personal anguish” involved in Mr O’Brien’s situation: “It seems to me that he has suffered considerably.”
Matthew Jolley BL, for Mr O’Brien, had told the judge that Mr O’Brien has lost his job, seen his privacy “destroyed” in the face of national and international media attention, and has required “very real steps” to ensure the safety of himself and his family in light of recent events. He said that Mr O’Brien’s reputation has suffered “untold damage”.
Mr Justice Sanfey said Mr O’Brien’s conduct since agreeing to co-operate with Rippling’s legal team and his efforts to comply with the court orders “does him credit”.
The judge said he was satisfied that Mr O’Brien now recognises what he did was wrong, accepts the serious nature of a court order, and has complied with the court’s directions as much as possible.
He said he saw no purpose for “any punitive order”.
Mr O’Brien, of Ringford Avenue, Balrothery, Co Dublin, was present for the hearing along with his wife, but did not address the court.
In a sworn statement, opened to the court last week, Mr O’Brien confessed to spying for Deel while working at Rippling’s Dublin office.
He said he passed on “a lot” of confidential company information to Deel’s chief executive Alex Bouaziz in return for thousands of euro in monthly payments.
Mr O’Brien said that Mr Bouaziz suggested that he “become a ‘spy’” for Deel some time after they connected on LinkedIn. “I recall him specifically mentioning James Bond,” Mr O’Brien said.
After Rippling discovered the “spying” arrangement, and Mr O’Brien’s being served with the High Court proceedings, the Dublin man said he communicated with two in-house Deel lawyers, Asif Malik and Andrea David Mieli.
Mr O’Brien claims that Mr Malik directed him – in order to “shift” the narrative – to make false statements to the High Court, the Central Bank of Ireland and Deel’s Irish solicitors A&L Goodbody alleging that Rippling facilitated “sanctioned ‘Russian payments’”, and that he was being harassed for reporting such payments.
Following an application by Rippling last week, Mr Justice Sanfey made orders joining Mr Bouaziz, with an address in Paris, France; Mr Malik, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England; and Rome-based Mr Mieli to the proceedings brought against Mr O’Brien.
Marcus Dowling SC, for Rippling, said on Thursday that when attempts were made to serve the proceedings on Mr Malik, his side were told that he had moved to Dubai.
He said that as recently as last week, Deel has said the allegations against them are “baseless”. However, Mr Dowling said his side is yet to hear from the defendants.
Mr Dowling clarified that his clients have entered into a settlement with Mr O’Brien, but the proceedings against him are still live.
