Mark Sanfey urges Claddagh brothers to settle dispute

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

Mr Justice Mark Sanfey urged Andrew and Philip Fried to resolve their Claddagh Jewellers dispute in the High Court on 2 July 2020. The dispute concerns ownership, management and use of the Claddagh Jewellers trademark.

The judge said Andrew Fried’s lawyers had come off record because of a lack of instructions from their client, and Andrew did not attend the hearing of his action. Philip Fried’s lawyers sought orders following his non-attendance. The judge struck out Andrew’s action and ordered that Philip be restored as a director of Claddagh Jewellers Ltd. He also said he would grant Philip an injunction restraining Andrew from using or infringing the trademark pending the proceedings’ outcome.

Mr Justice Sanfey declined to make further company-related orders until the matter returned to court later that month. He urged the brothers to make renewed efforts to settle, warning that continued litigation could damage the business and put employees’ jobs at risk.