The High Court refused most of Flogas Ireland Limited and DCC Energy Limited’s requests for interim injunctions against North West Gas Company Limited, but ordered North West not to infringe Flogas’s copyright in its standard industrial LPG supply agreement pending trial.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice David Keane on 9 October 2020, concerned an interlocutory application in proceedings alleging breach of contract, breach of copyright, unlawful interference with contractual relations, breach of duty and defamation. The court’s decision addressed interim relief only; it did not finally determine the parties’ underlying claims.
The dispute arose from a long-running LPG supply and resale relationship in Donegal, due to end on 1 June 2021 under a settlement agreement. Flogas and DCC argued that North West could not solicit their customers for future supply contracts before that date. North West said it could seek contracts for supply after the relationship ended, though it could not supply LPG to those customers before then. The parties disputed the nature of their existing agreement and how the settlement terms should be interpreted.
Justice Keane found serious issues to be tried on those contract questions, but concluded that Flogas and DCC had not shown a strong arguable case likely to succeed at trial. He also found they had not established the required threshold for their fiduciary-duty and unlawful-interference claims. North West had given an undertaking not to suggest that Flogas or DCC was ceasing operations in Donegal, so the court did not need to consider that aspect further for this application.
The court was satisfied that Flogas and DCC had made out a strong arguable case of copyright infringement. Justice Keane described the quantity and quality of similarities between the two companies’ standard agreements as “very striking”.
The judge found that damages would not be an adequate remedy for either side if an interim injunction were wrongly refused or granted. He also considered that the requested restrictions would decide a significant part of the dispute before trial. Weighing those matters, he refused the injunctions concerning customer solicitation, interference with customer contracts and breach of the settlement agreement, but granted the injunction protecting Flogas’s agreement from infringement pending trial.
North West had indicated it was willing to take steps to have the trial heard before 1 June 2021. The judge said he would consider any application for directions to that end. The parties were directed to seek agreement on issues arising from the judgment, including costs; if they disagreed, short written submissions were to be filed within 14 days.