Court to make preliminary ruling in horsemeat scandal case
A preliminary High Court ruling is expected today in the case of a small meat processor who claims he was wrongly "hung out to dry" during the horsemeat scandal.
Martin McAdam of McAdam Food Products Ltd is suing ABP, a former arm of the Goodman Group, for defamation over a press release the company released at the height of the controversy.
When horsemeat was detected in frozen beef burgers at an ABP company in Monaghan, the group issued a press release stating that it had purchased beef products from McAdams Food Service.
It said this was done in good faith, but horse DNA originating in Poland was present in some of these products.
The High Court's heard Martin McAdam and his company claim that that this widely reported statement brought his business to its knees by wrongly implying McAdams was the primary cause of the horsemeat scandal in Ireland.
ABP denies defamation and is awaiting a ruling today as to whether the court will direct McAdams' side to put up €640,000 as a security to meet the cost of defending the action.
