A man who says he was a partner in the public relations firm, Murray Consultants Limited, claimed in the High Court yesterday that his one-time partners have failed to discover all of the documents which he requires for legal proceedings against them.

Mr Terence P. Horgan, who claims he was excluded from the company in which he was an equal partner, has brought proceedings against Mr Patrick Joseph Murray and Mr James Milton of Murray Consultants.

In court yesterday, Mr Horgan sought an order striking out the points of defence submitted on behalf of Mr Murray and Mr Milton because of their failure to comply with court orders for discovery of documents.

Alternatively, Mr Horgan wants the court to compel both men to comply with the discovery request. Mr Murray and Mr Milton have also applied for an order against Mr Horgan to produce documents. Mr Paul Gardiner, for Mr Horgan, told Mr Justice O'Sullivan his client claimed to be an equal partner in the firm with the other two men. The company began in 1974 and Mr Horgan maintained that up to 1995 the business was run jointly and solely by the three partners.

In November 1995, the relationship broke down between the parties, Mr Gardiner said. Mr Horgan had been excluded entirely from the business of the company since late 1996 and had no access to documents.

One of the issues in the main action was whether there was a partnership and the other issue related to the value of Mr Horgan's shareholding. Mr Murray and Mr Milton denied there was a partnership as suggested by Mr Horgan and denied there was repression.

Mr Horgan was very concerned at the attitude taken to discovery by Mr Murray and Mr Milton. Mr Gardiner said he would be urging the court to strike out the defence for failure to make proper discovery. The hearing resumes tomorrow.