Michael Flatley has “fully secured” control of the Lord of the Dance, bringing an end to a legal dispute over his involvement in the production’s 30th anniversary tour.
A settlement agreement was reached in the High Court of Justice in Belfast on Wednesday, which stated the 67-year-old choreographer will “operate and run” the shows “solely” through Switzer Consulting Ltd “or a subsidiary of that company”.
Switzer, a Co Down based company, was granted a temporary injunction in January that blocked Flatley’s involvement in the planned worldwide tour.
Two years ago, both parties struck a formal service agreement that allowed Switzer to run the production.
READ MORE
The row over control of the show has sparked legal actions in Belfast, Dublin and London.
A statement issued by Flatley’s lawyer, Barry Creed, on Thursday said the settlement agreement meant the “proceedings once brought against Mr Flatley by his previous advisors, will fall away”.
“Following a hard-fought legal battle spanning almost six months and numerous court appearances across multiple jurisdictions, Michael Flatley has today fully secured his position as the person in complete control of the Lord of the Dance production, which bears his name,” Creed added.
Switzer had argued it was entitled to run the Lord of the Dance shows as Flatley signed away his intellectual property rights to the company in return for a loan from businessman Bruce MacInnes.
MacInnes is a director of Switzer.
In an affidavit, Flatley had said he disputed claims from Switzer and Des Walshe, his former agent, that he transferred all his intellectual property rights, valued at €158 million, for the sum of €1.
Switzer had previously accused Flatley of trying to “hijack” the tour to strip it of cash to fund his debts and personal lifestyle in Monaco.
The legal settlement signed between the parties’ legal teams on Wednesday stated that MacInnes’ (referred to as the “third defendant”) application for an injunction against Flatley was to be “dismissed”.
Flatley said the outcome “vindicates the position I have maintained throughout”.
“Lord of the Dance is my life’s work. I built it, I own it, and I will continue to lead it. For almost six months I have been forced to defend what is mine against those who sought to take it from me,” he said.
More than 260 performances of Lord of the Dance have been booked across Europe and North America in what was described as a “global venture”.
In January, Walshe claimed his ex-client had been living the lifestyle of a Monaco millionaire “without the funds to do so” since 2019.
He had borrowed €75,000 to pay for his own birthday party, the court was told.
“In the bluntest terms, he was faking it on a multimillion euro scale,” Walshe wrote in a letter to Flatley’s solicitor in Dublin.
Flatley’s barrister strenuously rejected claims that Flatley “was a poor manager of his own affairs and was a man with substantial debts”.
“Ad-hominem attacks” had been made on his character, the court heard in a previous hearing.
