The High Court has ordered the long-running Persona and Ganley cases over Ireland’s 1995 second GSM mobile telephone licence competition to be tried together and in two distinct stages.
The litigation was brought by Persona Digital Telephony Limited and Rockabill Wireless Limited, and separately by Declan Ganley and Acegrind Limited. They were unsuccessful tenderers in the competition and allege that corrupt interference caused them loss. The allegations remain disputed and have not been determined.
Ms Justice Emily Egan said the three sets of proceedings should be heard concurrently before the same judge. All parties consented to that arrangement. The cases arise from the same competition, involve substantially overlapping historical evidence and are expected to require many of the same witnesses.
The State estimates that its factual evidence on liability alone will take at least 12 weeks. The judge noted that many witnesses are now of advanced age and will be giving evidence about events more than 30 years before the trial.
The more contested issue was whether the case should also be split into separate trial modules. Persona opposed that proposal, while the State, Denis O’Brien, Michael Lowry and the Ganley plaintiffs supported it.
The court ruled that the first module will decide preliminary and jurisdictional issues, the alleged wrongdoing, State liability, causation and whether either plaintiff lost a real or substantial opportunity to win the licence. Only after those issues are resolved will a second module, if required, assess damages and other financial remedies.
The damages issues are substantial. Persona advances several alternative valuations, including calculations which, with interest, reach approximately €6.4 billion.
Egan J found that liability and quantum could be separated without unfairness and that a standalone damages hearing could itself require six to eight weeks. A modular approach could therefore save significant court time and costs if the plaintiffs fail on liability.
The ruling settles only how the trial will be conducted. It does not decide whether corruption occurred, whether any defendant is liable, or whether either plaintiff is entitled to damages. Trial is scheduled to begin in Hilary or Whit 2027.