DCC to bear some of costs in Fyffes case

The High Court has ruled that DCC would have to bear some of the costs in fruit importer Fyffes' failed legal case against its former shareholder over alleged insider dealing late last year.

Justice Mary Laffoy ruled that although Fyffes had brought the case and lost, DCC had to bear some of the cost for having unnecessarily prolonged the case.

'The approach adopted by the defendants (DCC) .... deliberately ignored the reality. That approach added considerably to the complexity and duration of the case,' Justice Laffoy said.

A legal source close to Fyffes said it would be several days before it was clear what the financial impact would be.

Fyffes began the legal action against DCC after the marketing and distribution group sold Fyffes shares a month before it made a profit warning in March 2000. The case ran for 87 days at the High Court.