A bid by the board of the Show Jumping Association of Ireland to remove its chairman and three other board members is to go to private mediation on Friday.
The parties have agreed to a leading senior counsel acting as mediator in the hope he can find a way forward and avoid a costly court trial.
A mediated settlement will also avoid further exposure of allegations least likely to facilitate terms of a settlement being reached.
Barristers Sean Ahern, for the defendant directors; Clodagh Gartlan, for the association; and Martin Canny, for the chairman and directors facing dismissal from the board, told Judge Brian Cregan last month that interim injunction restraints could by consent go back to February 23rd.
The association had been restrained from voting on a resolution proposing to remove its chairman, Des McFadden, and three other directors from its board, Neal Doherty, Derek Reid and Aldyth Roulston.
The High Court had heard how the proposed vote would most likely be supported by eight named directors identified in court as: Marguerite Ryan, Ballinbarna, The Rower, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny; Taylor Vard, Hillside Stud, Ballyedmonduff, Stepaside, Co Dublin; Melvyn Kennedy, The Racecourse, Danesfort, Co Kilkenny; Tony Hurley, Forest Lodge, Cullen, Mallow, Co Cork; Tomas Ryan, Mill Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary; Aideen Kirby, Coosane, Birdhill, Limerick; Tommy Gibbons, Mayfield, Rooskey, Claremorris, Co Mayo; and Kenneth Feeney, Cluan Na Cathrach, Caheroyan, Athenry, Co Galway.
The resolution to have been voted on had called for a disciplinary decision on whether McFadden, Doherty, Reid and Roulston should be removed from the board and its standing committees on the basis they had failed to properly inform the board on the content and extent of litigation involving the association’s Ulster region against a former treasurer there.
McFadden, of Kilens Road, Mountfield, Omagh, Co Tyrone, initially stated in written evidence that, if not restrained, the association’s dismissal of him and his colleagues would cause catastrophic and irreparable damage to their good names and reputations.
He said such dismissals as planned could undermine court proceedings in Northern Ireland against former Ulster region treasurer Allison Mercer who, he said, had failed to account for certain moneys following queries that had been raised by the association’s auditors.
“To avoid unnecessary use of the words purported and supposed … the court will note that we are challenging whether the meeting was properly called or whether the proposed resolution is properly before the board of directors for a vote,” McFadden had stated.
When an injunction was granted by Judge Garrett Simons during the summer break, the High Court heard how a proposed disciplinary process might lead to the termination of McFadden, Doherty, Reid and Roulston.
McFadden had stated that companies under his management had turnover of between £10 million (€11.5 million) and £20 million a year and employed about 100 employees with offices in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland.
He said Neal, a quantity surveyor, was chairman of the Ulster Region finance committee.
Reid, a member of the Ulster Region Committee, had not always been popular with equestrian centres and those gaining financially from the sport, but had stood by his principles, the court heard.
Roulston was heavily involved in show jumping and had served as chef d’equipe for the Irish pony team in the past.
All feared being deeply damaged if the vote to dismiss them went ahead, the court heard.