State wants phone licence appeals to have court’s priority
The state had in June 2007 secured orders from the High Court stopping, on grounds of delay, separate actions brought by Comcast International Holdings Incorporated and Persona Digital Telephony Ltd challenging the licence award and claiming multi-million euro in damages.
The consortiums had brought their actions against the state, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Esat Digifone, and its former chairman, Denis O’Brien.
A similar motion by Mr O’Brien to halt the action against him on grounds of delay has been “parked” pending the outcome of the consortium’s appeals to the Supreme Court against the High Court decision stopping their cases.
The state had complained of delays in progressing the appeals and asked the Supreme Court to list the matter.
When the matter came before the Chief Justice, Mr Justice John Murray yesterday, John O’Donnell SC, for the state, said his side had asked for the case to be listed and wanted the appeals to be given priority.
The state also wanted the appeals to be heard together as that would save costs and time and there was no substantial difference between the cases.
While books of appeal were provided in 2008, no submissions had been lodged by the appellants despite requests from the state to do so, he added.
Paul Sreenan SC, for the Comcast side, did not object to the appeals being heard together, but Breifne Gordon for Persona, said he wanted them heard separately because of the “importance of the issues at stake”.
The Chief Justice noted the Comcast appeal was almost ready for hearing but the Persona proceedings were further behind, but directed the proceedings be heard together.
He added there was much pressure on the Supreme Court list and no date for hearing could be sought until the necessary legal submissions and authorities were received by the court.
He made directions which would result in the exchange of submissions to be completed by May 19 after which it is expected a date for priority hearing of the appeals will be sought.
In their substantive actions, the consortiums have alleged fraud, conspiracy, deceit, corruption and misfeasance in public office in relation to mobile licence award.
The challenges were initiated in 2001, but in 2007 Mr Justice Paul Gilligan ruled there was inordinate and inexcusable delay by the plaintiffs in bringing and prosecuting the actions and, given this and other factors, the balance of justice required they should not be permitted to proceed.
Mr Justice Gilligan noted the second GSM licence was awarded in 1995 and many years would have elapsed between the cause of action and the hearing of these cases.
While it had been argued the plaintiffs were monitoring the hearings of the Moriarty Tribunal into the licence award and awaiting its outcome, this was not a valid excuse for the delay, the judge said.
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