O’Brien bid to identify Red Flag client fails

Billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien has failed to get a High Court injunction requiring Dublin-based Red Flag Consulting to identify, at this stage, its client for a dossier of material about him which he alleges shows a conspiracy to damage him.

Mr O’Brien claims the dossier, contained on a memory stick, was sent to him anonymously in his Dublin offices last October. He claims it evidences a conspiracy to damage him and is also defamatory.

Mr O’Brien initiated proceedings against Red Flag and various executives and staff, including CEO Karl Brophy. During 10 court applications, he got orders including to image and preserve material on devices of Red Flag pending further hearings.

Earlier this month, he sought an injunction compelling Red Flag to identify its client for the dossier because he wants to joint that client to the action against Red Flag for alleged conspiracy and defamation.

Red Flag argued there was no legal basis for that injunction, that it has a duty of confidentiality to its client and its business would be irreversibly damaged if it had to disclose a client’s identity.

In his judgement yesterday, Mr Justice MacEochaidh found Irish courts can make such identification orders but on conditions including applicants for such orders providing, to a high degree of certainty, evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the alleged wrongdoer.

Mr O’Brien had failed to produce evidence which showed, to that degree of certainty, any wrongdoing by the client justifying such an order, the judge said.

He said he does not consider the case to be urgent but was prepared to case manage it in January or February.