TWO milkmen lost an appeal in the Supreme Court yesterday against a High Court injunction preventing them distributing products competing with goods from Premier Dairies. A full hearing of the action will be heard later.
Premier got the interlocutory injunction against Mr Tommy Doyle, Hughes Road East, Walkinstown, who under an agreement with the company covered part of Tallaght; and Mr Pat Harries, Springfield, Tallaght, who had an agreement covering parts of Shankill, Loughlinstown, Foxrock and Killiney.
Independent contractors agreed not to promote products similar to Premier's during the term of the agreement. It provided that on termination of the agreement, they would not distribute competing products for 12 months. It also provided for summary termination of the agreement if a distributor failed to pay promptly for products supplied.
Mr Justice O'Flaherty, giving the Supreme Court judgment, said both men got into arrears of payment. Mr Doyle ran up a debt of £22,082 and in Mr Harries' case, the company was owed £16,538.
On September 3rd last the company terminated their agreements. There was no dispute that the defendants were in breach of contract.
The two men delivered notes to customers saying they were forced to deliver another brand until the dispute was resolved.
Mr Justice O'Flaherty said the substance of the action remained to be put before the trial judge and the Supreme Court should resist any temptation of giving even tentative conclusions.