A senior heart surgeon had supported the chief executive of a medical services company in an unlawful endeavour to set up a company in competition with her employer, it was alleged in the High Court yesterday. Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins was told that a leading Dublin cardiac surgeon, Mr John Hurley, had written to an American supplier of cardiac products indicating he would only do business with them if Ms Linda Reid was their Irish agent. Bailey Medical Services Ltd, Sandyford Industrial Estate, Co Dublin, was yesterday granted an injunction against its former chief executive, Ms Reid, restraining her from revealing or exploiting confidential company information.
Ms Reid was further restrained from entering into any contracts with existing or former suppliers or customers of Bailey Medical Services.
Mr Roddy Horan, counsel for Bailey Medical Services, said the company, under its managing director, Mrs Pauline Bailey, was agent for the importation of cardiac supplies. While she was recently on holiday she had been informed that her chief executive, Ms Reid, had approached and solicited prime agencies who dealt through Bailey Medical Services.
Mrs Bailey later learned that Ms Reid, while lawfully employed by her, had managed to induce at least one of those agents to provide her with product exclusively imported by Bailey Services and had asked other prime suppliers to deal with her. She claimed Ms Reid had also converted a number of company documents and highly-sensitive information to her own use and "froze" when confronted, refusing to answer questions. Mrs Bailey said the main customer for life-saving heart valves and pacemakers was Mr Hurley, who took 60 per cent of all cardiac products supplied in Ireland by CarboMedics of America.
While she had been aware that Ms Reid enjoyed a good relationship with Mr Hurley, she had regarded this as entirely a personal matter, and it had not been of concern to her.
Mr Horan said his client later learned that Mr Hurley had written to CarboMedics on Ms Reid's behalf pointing out that he would only do business with her as agent.
"He supported her in an unlawful endeavour. We are locked into an agreement with this American supplier," Mr Horan said. "He has aligned himself with the defendant and it is a quite outrageous inducement of a breach of contract by both the defendant and the surgeon." Mr Horan told the court there was sufficient evidence that there had been a concerted attempt by Ms Reid, in consort with an eminent consultant surgeon, to take business away from Bailey Medical Services Ltd and set up her own competing business.
The judge said the company had established a prima facie case and was entitled to the restraints.