Fyffes has been dealt a blow after judges ruled against it in the long running insider-trading lawsuit it had filed against marketing and business services firm DCC.
The banana giant had accused DCC and its chief executive of unlawful share deals, however the Irish High Court in Dublin ruled that the share sales were entirely lawful and that none of the defendants has any liability arising from the sales of the shares in Fyffes in February 2000.
The case began back in January 2002 when Fyffes started legal action in the High Court in Dublin against DCC, S&L Investments Ltd, Lotus Green Ltd and its chief executive Jim Flavin for €85 million - the largets claim in Irish legal history.
Fyffes claimed the sale of 31,169,493 of its shares between February 3 and February 14, 2000, constituted an unlawful dealing within the meaning of Part V of the Companies Act 1990.
But after an 87-day trial, High Court Justice Mary Laffoy ruled that Flavin was "not in possession of price-sensitive information" at the time of the sale.
DCC used a subsidiary to sell its 10.2 per cent stake in Fyffes for €85m, however the following month, Fyffes shares, already weakened by the DCC sell-off, lost half their value when Fyffes issued a profit warning.
Justice Laffoy ruled that Flavin did not have insider's information on those looming announcements so "the dealing was not unlawful ... and no civil liability to account arises."
She is now expected to rule on January 11 whether Fyffes must cover both sides legal bills, which are estimated to be as high as €18m.
Fyffes is reported to be consulting with its legal advisors and considering an appeal of the decision to the Supreme Court.
