A radio presenter, Mr Pat Courtenay, yesterday won a High Court injunction preventing Radio 2000 Ltd, trading as Classic Hits 98FM, from terminating his employment. Miss Justice Laffoy said that she would not direct that the station reinstate him as a presenter. But the station must continue to employ him pending the outcome of a full hearing of the action on November 7th.
On the application of Mr Ercus Stewart SC, for the station, Miss Justice Laffoy put a stay on her decision until July 31st in the event of an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The High Court heard last week that on July 4th Mr Courtenay was given notice of dismissal, effective from August 1st, as presenter of 98FM's Drive Time programme. He claimed that his dismissal was not in accordance with fair procedures.
Ms Justice Laffoy said that Mr Courtenay had been employed as a presenter with the station since August 1989 under a series of written contracts - the most recent being one dated August 21st, 1994 - for the term April 1st, 1994 to March 31st, 1996.
She said it was common case that, on the termination of that term of contract, Mr Courtenay continued in the employment of the station without any further written contract being entered into. The terms of Mr Courtenay's employment from April 1st 1996 onwards, however, were matters to be determined at the trial of the action.
The judge said that on June 9th Mr Courtenay had been suspended on full pay until further notice for allegedly breaching the embargo relating to the general election during a broadcast on polling day, June 6th.
Mr Courtenay was told that a full investigation would take place into the incident and he had been invited to attend a meeting with Mr Ken Hutton, the station's general manager, on June 11th. He attended that meeting with his solicitor. At the meeting, Mr Courtenay contended that he had not been in breach of any instruction given to him in relation to broadcasting on polling day.
The judge said that, while the evidence before the court might not tell the whole story, on the evidence before the court the next intimation which Mr Courtenay got as to the station's intentions in relation to his employment was at a meeting on July 4th. At that meeting, a letter of dismissal, signed by Mr Hutton, was handed to Mr Courtenay.