One of three sets of legal proceedings taken by a man who claims he was a founding partner in the public relations firm, Murray Consultants, was struck out yesterday by the High Court.

Mr Justice O'Sullivan granted an application by Mr Joseph Murray and Mr James Milton, the remaining partners in Murray, to strike out the action taken against them by Mr Terence P. Horgan, of Deerpark Road, Castleknock, Dublin.

The judge made an order striking out Mr Horgan's statement of claim, insofar as it alleged and claimed damages for defamation, as disclosing no reasonable cause of action. He struck out the balance of the claim as an abuse of the process of the court.

In his judgment, Mr Justice O'Sullivan said Mr Horgan claimed he was approached by Mr Murray in 1974 to establish a public relations business. They agreed to set up a partnership, that Mr Horgan should be a partner and to run the partnership through a company, Murray Consultants. All went well for 20 years. The business expanded, moved and changed its name.

At the end of 1994, Mr Horgan claimed Mr Murray threatened to pull out of his business relationship unless he was given complete control. Mr Horgan offered to sell his company shares to the other two but negotiations on price were unsuccessful. There were acrimonious meetings, failed negotiations and Mr Horgan claimed the other two had unilaterally purported to terminate their partnership with him and had been running the company, excluding him.

He also claimed Mr Murray and Mr Milton conspired to reduce the recorded profits and to dissipate company assets and induce the company to breach its contract of employment with him by failing to pay his salary and purporting to terminate his employment.

The defendants, particularly Mr Murray, insulted, threatened, hurt and degraded him and, as a result, he had suffered stress and had had to consult his doctor, he further alleged.

The judge said that, in the present proceedings, Mr Horgan was claiming several declarations based on the argument he was a partner with the two defendants in Murray, an injunction restraining the defendants from dissipating the assets of the partnership and damages for breach of contract, inducement of breach of contract, conspiracy and defamation.

The defendants had applied to have the case struck out on the basis the pleadings disclosed no reasonable cause of action. They claimed the entire case was already the subject of two other proceedings, one under the Companies Act and the second alleging wrongful dismissal.

The judge noted Mr Paul Gardiner, for Mr Horgan, had "in large part" accepted that the facts relied upon by Mr Horgan in the present proceedings were the same as in the other two proceedings. But counsel had argued he was seeking quite different reliefs in the present action.

The judge said he could find no basis where a court could find there was a partnership relationship between the three parties to the action which was separate from their relationship as common shareholding members of Murray.

In his view, there was no case for a partnership. The parties had conceived and promoted a public relations business to be conducted through Murray Consultants.

There was no reasonable cause of action regarding the claim for damages for defamation and the claim for an injunction restraining the defendants from dissipating the business assets could be dealt with in the other proceedings.