A woman whose husband is being sued by bloodstock billionaire John Magnier over the purported sale of a Co Tipperary estate broke down in the High Court on Thursday when explaining they had decided to sell the property in order to move to Australia to tend to their son’s health needs.
Anna Thomson-Moore’s husband, Richard, is being sued by Mr Magnier, who claims he had a handshake agreement with the Thomson-Moores to buy Barne Estate for €15 million in August 2023.
Ms Thomson-Moore told the High Court on Thursday that her five-year-old son, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, is in need of 24-hour care, cannot walk or crawl and is non-verbal. She said his care was behind the decision to sell the estate.
She told her barrister, Martin Hayden SC, she did not want her son to be “defined by his disabilities” but that his condition meant the family had chosen to move to Australia where she has a large family that could support him.
READ MORE
Ms Thomson-Moore became emotional as she described her thoughts as to how Teddy would be cared for should she and her husband, as “older” parents, die or have anything happen to them.
Teddy was a “delightfully happy and inquisitive child” but he had a number of diagnoses, she said. She said he was not capable of doing things other children of his age would be expected to do.
The decision to move to her native Australia was influenced by the fact healthcare services for children in their area of Co Tipperary were under-resourced, difficult to avail of and over-subscribed.
Ms Thomson-Moore said there was a national scheme available there with individualised budgets for children with her son’s diagnoses, but that the family would have to be in Australia to avail of these.
She said Mr Magnier had visited Barne before the purported handshake deal of August 22nd, 2023, and had asked if the family was being put under pressure by a bank to sell.
Ms Thomson-Moore, a lawyer, said she told Mr Magnier it was a family decision to sell the estate and that the trustees of the estate were involved.
Mr Hayden asked Ms Thomson-Moore if Mr Magnier expressed any surprise upon learning of the involvement of trustees in the estate, to which Ms Thomson-Moore replied “no”.
The Magnier side claims a €15 million deal was struck for Barne Estate, which the Magniers believed they had shook hands on in August 2023.
However, a sale was later agreed with the Irish-born, US-based construction magnate Maurice Regan, who offered €22.25 million.
The case centres on Mr Magnier’s claim that Mr Regan engaged in a “full-frontal assault” on Mr Magnier’s claimed deal to buy the 751-acre tract and that Barne Estate reneged on the deal.
Barne Estate has been held for the benefit of Richard Thomson-Moore and others by a Jersey trust.
The Magnier side has sued the Barne Estate, Mr Thomson-Moore and three companies of IQEQ (Jersey) Ltd group, seeking to enforce the purported deal, which they say had been “unequivocally” agreed.
The Barne defendants say there was never any such agreement, as they needed the consent of trustees to finalise any agreement and subsequently they preferred to sell the estate to Mr Regan.
Mr Regan is not a party to the case.
The case continues before Mr Justice Max Barrett.
