The High Court has remitted a dispute between mortgage brokerage businesses and a former employee to the Dublin Circuit Court, reserving the costs of the High Court proceedings for later decision.
In a judgment delivered on 26 November 2008, Miss Justice Laffoy said the plaintiff, Parkborough Limited trading as The Mortgage Advice Shop, had acted reasonably in starting its case in the High Court. The main relief it sought was an injunction, and the amount of its special damages could not be quantified until after discovery, she said.
The company and the second defendant, REA Mortgage Services Limited trading as REA Mortgage Choice, competed for mortgage broking business in Waterford. The first defendant, Maria Kelly, had worked for the plaintiff and left on 22 March 2006 after being headhunted by the second defendant.
The plaintiff’s solicitors alleged in letters before proceedings that the defendants had exploited the company’s client base. They sought undertakings concerning the return of company property and the use of confidential information. The defendants denied wrongdoing and declined to give undertakings at that time. The plaintiff later issued a plenary action seeking injunctive relief and damages, including €5,125 in itemised special damages. The defendants’ defence denied the allegations.
In April 2008, the defendants offered undertakings that mirrored much of the injunctive relief sought, expressly without admitting liability or wrongdoing. They said the proceedings were moot and argued that any damages claim belonged in the Circuit Court. The plaintiff then sought an order that bringing the action in the High Court had been reasonable, or alternatively that it be remitted.
Before the application was heard, the second defendant entered voluntary liquidation. Its liquidator did not take part in the application; the first defendant was represented at the hearing.
Justice Laffoy rejected both sides’ requests for an immediate ruling on who should pay the High Court costs. There had been no plenary hearing on oral evidence, and the dispute remained alive because the undertakings were given without an admission of liability. The eventual outcome would establish the event relevant to costs, she said, subject to the Circuit Court judge’s discretion.
The court did not make a formal declaration that the High Court proceedings were reasonable. It ordered that the case be remitted to the Dublin Circuit Court and reserved the costs of the High Court proceedings on both sides, including the hearing. It did not decide the underlying allegations or damages claim.