Comreg to seek legal costs against Smart over failed 3G mobile licence

COMREG has told the High Court it will be seeking legal costs at the highest level against Smart Telecom following Smart’s unsuccessful court bid to overturn ComReg’s refusal to grant it the lucrative 3G mobile phone licence.

The issue of who will pay the costs of the 14-day hearing will come before Mr Justice Peter Kelly on November 20. The costs are likely to be well in excess of €1 million.

Michael Cush SC for Smart, told the judge yesterday his side was willing to pay costs on a party-party basis (the usual costs basis) but were opposed to an application by Michael Howard SC, for ComReg, to pay costs on a solicitor-client basis (the highest level).

The judge said he would deal with the costs issue and other matters on November 20. Those matters include an application by ComReg for an inquiry into whether it is entitled to damages in relation to Smart’s application earlier this year for an injunction restraining the award of the 3G licence to any other party.

Mr Justice Kelly had found that some of the sworn material from Smart which formed the basis on which the injunction was awarded was “quite simply untrue”.

In his judgment last month dismissing Smart’s challenge on all grounds, Mr Justice Kelly described Smart as a company which had tried and failed to make a policy of “bluff, bluster and threat” make up for a deficit in ability. Smart, the judge found, “did not satisfy the conditions for the award of the licence within the times provided, or indeed at all”.

The action arose after ComReg’s decision last February not to award the licence to Smart Mobile Limited. ComReg said this was because of a failure by Smart to provide a €100m performance guarantee bond in a form acceptable to it within the specified deadline.

In its proceedings, Smart Mobile Limited sought a declaration that there is a “concluded contract” between Smart and ComReg for the awarding of the licence.