The High Court continued an injunction restraining Galway Clinic Doughiska Ltd from dismissing its chief executive, Paraic Bergin, but limited the order so the Clinic can appoint someone else to perform the role on terms that would allow Bergin to return if he succeeds at trial.
Mr Justice Clarke’s interlocutory ruling followed a multi-day hearing in early October 2007. Bergin had begun proceedings on 10 July seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. An interim order had restrained the Clinic from dismissing him or making statements inconsistent with his continuing as chief executive.
The dispute followed the Clinic’s grant of operating and admitting privileges to a consultant surgeon identified in the judgment only as “EM.” The Clinic’s medical advisory committee had recommended against granting the privileges. Bergin said he believed the surgeon met the relevant criteria and that the final decision was his as chief executive. The Clinic disputed his authority. The court said the underlying facts and the employment contract’s application would require a full hearing.
Bergin argued that the Board had prejudged whether he committed misconduct without giving him a fair opportunity to respond. He also contended that he had effectively been dismissed at a Board meeting, that some Board members should take no further part because of apparent bias, and that the Clinic could no longer terminate his contract on three months’ notice after starting a misconduct process. The judge did not decide those issues individually.
For this interlocutory application, the court held that an employee seeking to prevent dismissal or a process leading to dismissal under a private employment contract must establish a strong case. Clarke J found that Bergin met that threshold on the allegation of prejudgment. On the evidence then available, there was a strong arguable case that the Board had reached a significantly adverse conclusion about serious wrongdoing before Bergin had a chance to answer matters that could affect that conclusion. The judge stressed that this was not a final finding on the disputed allegations.
The court declined to order that Bergin be allowed to carry out his duties while the case continued. It considered that requiring the Clinic to operate with him as chief executive amid the breakdown in relations could cause harm outweighing the harm to Bergin if he did not return before trial. The Clinic was not barred from giving contractual notice of termination; whether any such notice would be valid was left for trial.
The injunction restrains Bergin’s actual dismissal and allows an appointment to cover the chief executive’s duties only if its terms preserve the possibility of his return following a full hearing. The judge said measures should be taken to bring the case on for an early trial.