Documents lodged at the High Court in London claim that Irish financier Derek Quinlan was removed from the Corion board because he was the subject of constant adverse press comment in Ireland.
Coroin, which he founded, was taken over by the billionaire Barclay brothers, owners of the Ritz Hotel, last year.
The comments about Mr Quinlan come in a written witness statement by Richard Faber, a business associate of David and Frederick Barclay.
The Barclay brothers are being sued by Belfast-born developer Paddy McKillen.
Last year, Mr Quinlan entered into an agreement to use his shareholding to support the Barclays in their attempts to take control of three London hotels.
But Mr Faber says Mr Quinlan was removed from the board of the company because he was "one of Ireland's most notoriously embattled property tycoons" who was "constantly the subject of press comment".
In his statement, Mr Faber adds having someone like Mr Quinlan on the board was very bad for the Barclays' ability to deal with banks.
Mr Faber refers to Mr Quinlan's lack of availability for meetings "which he no longer seemed greatly interested in" and concludes that, "with the benefit of hindsight", he is not sure why the Barclays' waited so long before replacing him.
The case continues today.
