Judge: Journalist does not need to testify

The High Court has ruled that a journalist and a director of a charitable organisation do not have to give evidence as part of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in the US involving businessman Tony Quinn.

In a case that raised important issues concerning the protection of a journalist’s sources, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan set aside orders requiring Sunday World reporter Nicola Tallant and Mike Garde, a director of Dialogue Ireland, to give evidence before an Irish lawyer in Dublin as part of proceedings in Colorado.

The judge said both were entitled to avail of the protection of “journalistic privilege”, as envisaged under Article 40.6.1.i of the Constitution in order to protect sources of material both had written in connection with the US court case.

The US action arises from the sale of shares in International Natural Energy (INE) LLC, the holding company of a firm involved in oil exploration in Central America. Tony Quinn is a shareholder of the company.

Former INE director Jean Cornec has sued INE, its chairwoman Susan Morrice, and the firm’s directors and affiliates as he claims he has not been paid in full for a $15m (€11.5m) sale of his shares to Ms Morrice.

The claims are denied and the defendants allege Mr Cornec breached their contract of sale by engaging in wrongful conduct, including disparagement designed to damage the reputation of the defendants including Mr Quinn. Mr Cornec denies those allegations.

As part of the proceedings, due to be heard next January, lawyers for the defendants in the US case secured orders from a court in Colorado requesting that the High Court order Ms Tallant and Mr Garde to be deposed as witnesses in the US lawsuit claiming they had evidence relevant to their counterclaim.

Ms Tallant and Mr Garde, who have written about Mr Quinn and his affairs, resis-ted any order compelling them to give evidence on several grounds including journalistic privilege.

Lawyers for Ms Morrice had argued that privilege did not apply. It was claimed the sources were already known as parties in the US had admitted in depositions that they had contacted Ms Tallant and Mr Garde.

Mr Justice Hogan said he accepted that Mr Garde and Ms Tallant’s evidence was relevant to the proceedings, and dismissed their claims that the request to depose them was “oppressive”.

However, he was not prepared to order them to give evidence on the grounds that they were being asked to reveal their sources.

He said Ms Tallant had argued that there was a strong interest in publishing material concerning Mr Quinn and the affairs of INE.

The judge said that “if, as she maintains, Mr Quinn holds unorthodox religious views and is effectively the leader of a religious cult which has used psychological techniques as a means of controlling gullible adherents then the media are entitled to educate public opinion in this regard”.

The judge also said Ms Tallant had argued there was no distinction between the identity of a source and the information disclosed by a source.

He said that after weighing all the relevant factors he was satisfied that the case compelling Ms Tallant to give evidence had not been “convincingly established”.

Given that she would be asked to identify sources of her work, which she could decline to answer if put to her in an Irish court, the judge said he was declining to order that she be compelled to give evidence in the US proceedings.

In respect of Mr Garde the Judge ruled that he too was entitled to assert an immunity from having to give evidence. While Mr Garde was not a journalist he had a similar interest to Ms Tallant in ensuring his sources were protected, the judge found.

The issue of costs in the case was adjourned to a date later this month.