Costs may be resolved to O’Brien’s liking

The ruling on how Mr Justice Michael Moriarty will approach costs, issued last week and seen by The Irish Times, looks good from the point of view of businessman Denis O'Brien.

The judge says he is going to refuse some people their costs on the grounds that they have been found, without doubt, to have been involved in the deliberate falsification of evidence, but that otherwise he will be granting people their costs.

The judge is not going to refuse people costs on the grounds that their evidence to the tribunal was at odds with his main findings, or because they engaged in “aggressive correspondence” with the tribunal that had the effect of tying it up in unnecessary disputes.

These and other aspects of the ruling would make you think that O'Brien, whose costs are thought to be double or more of those being sought by Michael Lowry (believed to be looking for about €8 million), is unlikely to be refused costs on the grounds of his dealings with the tribunal.

That is not the same as saying he will be given all he asks. He had a two-senior counsel legal team working for him, along with solicitors from William Fry. There may still be a chance the bill will be queried. The National Treasury Management Agency is involved in the area of agreeing quantum, as against legal entitlement, and will surely be seeking to save as much as possible.

In his final report the judge had very harsh things to say about the production of altered documents to the tribunal. But these were more linked to property dealings in England, and there was no suggestion that O’Brien was involved. Withheld costs are most likely to arise from this aspect of the tribunal saga.

Meanwhile, chairman of Doncaster Rovers John Ryan retired at the weekend. Amazingly, Kevin Phelan, the Northern Ireland businessman who was involved in land dealings investigated by the tribunal, is fronting a multimillion pound bid for the club, apparently on behalf of a Belize-based tycoon. Ryan was supportive of the deal but resigned at the weekend saying fellow shareholders in the club had started dealing with Phelan and had cut him out, a charge they disputed. Phelan was declared a bankrupt in NI this year.