Legal firm Matheson Ormsby Prentice pretended it was acting for Mr Zakaria el Taher, a 50 per cent shareholder in the Master Meat Packers group, when it was acting for, and being paid by, beef baron Mr Larry Goodman, it was claimed at the High Court yesterday.
From May 1987 to September 1988 (the period during which Mr Paschal Phelan, founder of the group, claims he was forced out), Mr Taher was alleging the legal firm was acting for and on behalf of Mr Goodman and not him, Mr James Salafia SC, for Mr Phelan, said.
Mr Taher was alleging it had misrepresented many matters about the affairs of Master Meat Packers and had complied with Mr Goodman's instructions.
Without prejudice to other defences, Mr Taher claims Matheson Ormsby Prentice; a chartered accountant, Mr Laurence Crowley; Mr David Coyle; Mr Sean Mooney of accountancy firm Stokes Kennedy Crowley; and the accountancy firm itself were the "alter ego" of Mr Goodman and his servants and agents and that Mr Taher was misled by Mr Goodman and the latter's servants and agents, and in particular was misled by the law firm regarding Master Meat Packers.
Mr Taher is further claiming it was Mr Goodman who deprived Mr Phelan of his shareholding in the firm, not Mr Taher.
Mr Salafia said Mr Taher alleged that in March 1988 the law firm had, ostensibly at Mr Taher's request but really at the request of Mr Goodman, inserted Mr David Coyle into the company to purportedly act for Mr Taher regarding the group's affairs. This appointment was without the approval of Mr Taher. Mr Taher would also claim the law firm wrote to AIB, the main bankers to the group, undermining Mr Phelan and misrepresenting the Taher involvement in the firm.
Mr Taher would also claim the law firm had passed a draft report by Coopers & Lybrand on the affairs of Master Meat Packers to Mr Sean Mooney, who was acting for Mr Goodman. Mr Salafia said Coopers & Lybrand was an innocent party to this and there was no suggestion the firm had acted other than properly.
Mr Taher would further claim the law firm had misrepresented the appointment of Mr Laurence Crowley as agent for Master Meats Anstalt (Mr Taher's company) when Mr Crowley was acting for Mr Goodman.
Mr Salafia was outlining the defence of Mr Taher to actions in which claim and counterclaims regarding the affairs of Master Meat Packers are being made by Mr Phelan, Mr Goodman and Mr Taher. Mr Phelan founded MMP and claims he and Mr Taher were equal shareholders in 10 companies in the group. He claims there was a conspiracy between Mr Taher, Mr Goodman and others in April 1987 to secure the removal of MMP from the meat trade by either putting the group into receivership or securing ownership and control.
While Mr Goodman has accepted, for the purpose of the proceedings, that he owned and controlled the group since 1987, both Mr Goodman and Mr Taher deny allegations of wrongdoing. Mr Taher further claims that Mr Goodman acted fraudulently to defraud and damage Mr Phelan with a view to eliminating Mr Phelan and his company as competitors to Goodman International or with a view to establishing a monopoly in the Irish beef industry.
Yesterday was the sixth day of the action. The court heard Mr Taher is pleading several matters in his defence including reliance on an indemnity from Mr Goodman to Mr Taher regarding actions of Mr Phelan and is also claiming the acts complained of by Mr Phelan about the affairs of Master Meat Packers were acts done by Mr Goodman and his servants or agents and not Mr Taher. Mr Salafia said Mr Taher would also claim that in an affidavit grounding a 1988 application for an injunction against Mr Phelan, Mr Crowley, on behalf of Mr Goodman, had misled the High Court.
The hearing continues today before Mr Justice Murphy.
