‘I came here for protection': John Magnier complains about ‘unfair' treatment in court

Irish Times

2 days ago

Billionaire businessman John Magnier has accused a barrister representing the Barne Estate owners of 'slaughtering' him and trying to take away his good name.
The bloodstock magnate addressed Martin Hayden on the third day of the hearing of his case alleging the property owners reneged on a deal, sealed with a handshake, to sell the 751-acre estate to him for €15 million.
Mr Magnier, his son John Paul Magnier and his daughter Katherine Wachman are suing Barne Estate owner Richard Thomson-Moore and three companies of IQEQ (Jersey), the holding company of the estate shares, over the purported sale they say occurred on August 22nd, 2023, at Mr Magnier's home in Coolmore.
They claim the Thomson-Moores backtracked on the agreement and accepted an offer from American-based businessman Maurice Regan for €22.25 million.
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In the Commercial Court in Dublin on Thursday, Mr Magnier told Mr Hayden, senior counsel for the Thomson-Moores, he feels he was treated 'unfairly' in the witness box on Wednesday.
'I got a lot of praise at the start. You ended up taking my good name. I can't do business without my good name,' he said.
'They (the Thomson-Moores) wouldn't have done a deal with me without my good name. I came here for protection and not to be slaughtered'.
Mr Magnier said he is not a 'legal person' and left that to others. Every day he received an update on his bloodstock business, which covers 6,000 mares a year. He also gets a daily update on his businesses in the UK, which employ 18,000 people.
Mr Magnier went on to accuse Mr Hayden of repeatedly asking him the same questions. He is not a 'Pontius Pilate' washing his hands of the deal he had made with the Thomson-Moores. 'If I say something to you, it's the truth'.
Mr Justice Max Barrett interjected to say Mr Hayden is doing his job and, in the judge's opinion, 'had not strayed at all yesterday'.
Mr Hayden also said he is doing his job to the best of his ability and there are always two sides to every story.
The judge said Mr Magnier and Mr Hayden are 'decent and honorable gentlemen, let's leave it at that'.
In his evidence, Mr Magnier said only Mr Stokes had mentioned on the night of August 22nd, 2023, that the sale needed the approval of the trustees based in Jersey.
According to Mr Magnier, Mr Stokes said they needed to phone the trustees and Mr Thomson-Moore's sister Alex about the deal.
They adjourned to another room and, when they returned and shook hands, Mr Magnier believed the outside parties had given their approval.
Mr Magnier's case alleges Mr Thomson-Moore 'had the authority or expressly represented that he had the authority' when he agreed to sell the farm, Mr Hayden said.
Mr Magnier responded: 'I didn't say he had authority on the night. I assumed he had authority. It was his farm as far as he was concerned.'
Mr Hayden said all property deals are subject to contract, and Mr Magnier was not going to send €15 million via Revolut to the Thomson-Moores without paperwork.
Mr Hayden suggested Mr Magnier had entered into an exclusivity agreement with the Thomson-Moores for the land because he knew he did not have a binding legal contract for it.
Mr Magnier rejected this suggestion, saying he only entered into an exclusivity agreement because Mr Regan was attempting to interfere in the sales process.