The High Court has been told the multi-million euro bitter legal dispute between the three shareholders of Web Summit has been settled.
The case had been expected to last three months, but after opening statements last week Mr Justice Michael Twomey had urged all sides to renew their efforts to settle what he described as a "very personal dispute" out of court.
The case had been adjourned a number of times this week to allow for settlement talks and yesterday the court was told there had been a development.
This morning the court heard the matter had been resolved and the case could be adjourned for mention only to 29 April.
Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave had sued former school friend David Kelly who holds a 12% stake in the business for alleged breaches of directors' duties.
He was seeking more than €10 million in damages for losses he said related to Mr Kelly's role in the establishment of a venture capital fund separate from Web Summit.
Mr Kelly and former director Daire Hickey, who has 7% shareholding, had sued Mr Cosgrave alleging shareholder oppression and breach of a profit share agreement.
The case had been expected to start hearing witness evidence this week but on Tuesday Judge Twomey urged the parties to enter settlement talks "before it’s too late".
The judge said the case would take three months to hear in court but it could be 2028 before it is finalised if it is appealed all the way to the Supreme Court.
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He said the time spent by the parties on the case would be time they "would never get back" and the toll it would take on the parties would be greater than if it were a typical commercial dispute because this was "a very personal dispute between only three shareholders".
Having been told the case was settled, Judge Twomey said he was really pleased for the three individuals in the case and said the settlement had avoided not only financial costs but a huge amount of reputational and personal costs.
He also thanked the lawyers in the case and said it could be "difficult to move from an adversarial position to a collaborative position in a matter of minutes".
He thanked the legal teams for their "hard work" over was "an entrenched position" with the three parties.
The case involved five separate legal actions and was described my Mr Cosgrave's lawyers as having "bitterness running through them like a spine".
Senior Counsel Bernard Dunleavy said the witness statements read more like a family law case than what you would expect to find in the commercial court.
No details of the settlement were disclosed in court.
Afterwards, Mr Cosgrave made a statement to say it was "a great day for Web Summit" and he was delighted to have finally "removed" the other parties in the case as minority shareholders.
He said the agreement "vindicates everything Web Summit has done to protect its interests and stand up for its principles". He also thanked his legal team and his family for their support.
A spokesperson for Mr Hickey said he was very pleased with the outcome.
"He would like to thank his family, friends and colleagues as well as his excellent legal team" for their support, the spokesperson said, adding that he was looking forward to getting back to work and family life.
A spokesperson for Mr Kelly said he was "very pleased that an agreement has been reached between the parties".
He also expressed his gratitude to his legal team and to his family and friends for their support "throughout the process and the many years leading to this".
