Fyffes chairman Mr Carl McCann agreed at the High Court yesterday that no-one in the fruit company had suggested that DCC chief executive Mr Jim Flavin had price-sensitive information about Fyffes at the time of a controversial €106 million sale by DCC of Fyffes stock over three days in February 2000.

In reply to questions from the Irish Stock Exchange some months later, Fyffes had also made no reference to Mr Flavin having price-sensitive information at the time of the share sales, the court heard.

Ms Justice Laffoy heard that it was not until some months after the sales that anyone in Fyffes suggested Mr Flavin may have had price-sensitive information at the time.

The court also heard that, when Fyffes was asked in April 2000 by the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to list the names of people who were aware that Fyffes' performance in the first half of the fiscal year 2000 was expected to be worse than the first half of 1999, Fyffes did not include Mr Flavin's name on that list.

The LSE had sought the information for its inquiry into dealings in Fyffes shares prior to March 20th, 2000.

Mr McCann denied a suggestion by Mr Michael Cush SC, for DCC, that all the evidence was inconsistent with Fyffes having been in possession of price-sensitive information at the time of the DCC sale.

Yesterday was the 25th day of proceedings in which Fyffes alleges DCC and Mr Flavin organised the sale of the DCC stake in Fyffes in breach of "insider dealing" provisions of the Companies Act 1990.

The defendants - DCC, Mr Flavin and two DCC subsidiaries - deny the claims.

During cross-examination, Mr McCann denied that Fyffes had, shortly after the first transaction on February 3rd 2000, twice encouraged the sale of the rest of the DCC shares. He said Fyffes' then chairman, his father Mr Neil McCann, was only told of the sale on February 3rd, 2000, as it was proceeding.

His father had tried to delay the sale repeatedly but had not succeeded and Fyffes' views were ignored by Mr Flavin.

Fyffes initiated a process on February 3rd to review the sale but, having been advised it could do nothing about it, had terminated that process.

A letter written by his father to Mr Flavin on February 4th, 2000, indicating it would be best if the rest of the DCC shares were sold to avoid an overhang in the market was "clumsy" but, Mr McCann said, it was written in haste and without legal advice.

He said Mr Flavin was in any event going to sell the shares and nothing Fyffes did would have prevented that.

DCC was being "unfair" in how it was presenting the fact that Mr Neil McCann had, at a meeting with Mr Flavin on the evening of the first share sale, bought Mr Flavin "a bottle of bubbly", he said.

Becoming visibly upset, Mr McCann said his father was in his seventies and had made a three-hour round trip from Dundalk to Dublin to meet Mr Flavin. "My very generous and gracious father did the right thing and it's unfair for it to be used in this way. He bought him a bottle of champagne."

Mr Flavin had wanted to stay as a director until the Fyffes annual meeting but, given the unhappiness in Fyffes about the share deals, Mr Neil McCann wished Mr Flavin to resign immediately.

Mr McCann said Mr Flavin tendered his resignation on February 9th.

Agreeing Fyffes had issued a press release on that date paying tribute to Mr Flavin, Mr McCann said both Fyffes and DCC had the same PR company, Wilson Hartnell (WHPR). Fyffes was advised by Ms Mary Finan of WHPR to: "Say it with flowers."

Fyffes did so and, he added, Mr Flavin had genuinely made a good contribution to Fyffes over the years.

Mr McCann said he was aware Mr Flavin regarded the current legal proceedings as "personal". The legal action was not personal or pleasant and it was no fun for him, Mr McCann, to be sitting in court.

Mr Cush said he believed Mr Kyran McLaughlin of Davy Stockbrokers would say that a memo compiled by Mr McCann about a conversation between Mr McLaughlin, Carl and Neil McCann in July 2000 regarding the February sales did not properly reflect what Mr McLaughlin had said.

Mr Cush said Mr McLaughlin would say he had never said that Mr Flavin initiated the process or that Mr Flavin "may have a problem". Mr McCann said his memo was accurate and it was open to interpretation as to whether Davy or Mr Flavin made the first move in the sale process.

Mr McCann's cross-examination concluded late yesterday. The case continues.