Comcast plaintiffs granted discovery in Esat licence case

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Comcast International Holdings Incorporated and its co-plaintiffs were granted discovery orders by the High Court on 1 November 2019 in proceedings concerning Ireland’s second GSM mobile phone licence.

The plaintiffs sought documents concerning the competing tenders, the evaluation of bids, communications involving Denis O’Brien and the award of the licence. The licence was awarded to Esat Telecommunications Limited on 6 May 1996.

Mr Justice Allen ordered discovery by the State defendants and Michael Lowry in the terms indicated, subject to specified exceptions. He also ordered discovery by Mr O’Brien. The judgment stated that the action against Mr O’Brien had been abandoned.

The judge adjourned generally, with liberty to re-enter, applications for discovery from Mr O’Brien concerning the commercial advantage Esat derived from the licence and for electronic inspection and searching facilities. He said he would hear counsel on progress towards a confidentiality protocol.

The plaintiffs were associated with the Cellstar Group, one of six bidders for the licence. They alleged that the tender process had been compromised and corrupted.

The discovery judgment was upheld in material part by the Court of Appeal in 2022, according to a later High Court judgment cited in the source.