Rangers FC settle £300,000 damages claim with former director Donald McIntyre

[ian1964 10,761]

The former financial director initiated legal proceedings against the Ibrox club after owner Craig Whyte took over in May.

 

Rangers FC have agreed to settle a £300,000 compensation claim for damages brought by the football club's former finance director.

 

Donald McIntyre initiated legal proceedings against the Ibrox club after owner Craig Whyte took over in May.

 

Mr McIntyre and former chief executive Martin Bain had a total of £780,000 of Rangers' assets frozen as they raised actions against the club.

 

On Friday, Mr McIntyreâ??s counsel, Jonathan Brown, told Lord Hodge at the Court of Session in Edinburgh: "I am pleased to say parties have reached, somewhat surprisingly, an agreement."

 

At an earlier court hearing, Lord Hodge arrested £300,000 of assets at Ibrox for Mr McIntyreâ??s claim where the former directorâ??s lawyers had set out his contractual entitlements and made a prima facie case in favour of a claim for damage to his reputation.

 

The terms of the settlement of the action were not disclosed after the brief hearing and Mr McIntyre, who was in court, declined to comment afterwards.

 

Mr Brown asked the judge for a continuation in the action and explained: "There are certain documentary requirements of a settlement of this nature that have to be thrashed out. It is just not feasible to get that document worked out this morning."

 

The judge agreed to a continuation for a week but said that if the parties lodged a document settling the action ahead of it the hearing would be discharged.

 

Lord Hodge was told in October that chartered accountant Mr McIntyre was "kept on the hook" following his five-month suspension at Rangers after the club was taken over by venture capitalist Craig Whyte from Sir David Murray.

 

He resigned as a director after treating his contract as having been repudiated and raised a damages action. His contract had provided for a £120,000 a year salary plus bonuses and other provisions.

 

During the previous hearing at which Rangers were not represented the court heard that it was Mr McIntyre's position that there was not and never had been a basis for his suspension and it was maintained that it had not carried out disciplinary procedures in his case.

 

His counsel at that hearing, Stuart Buchanan, said: "This is a professional man who has been suspended as finance director who has made every effort to co-operate with Mr Whyte and every effort has been rebuffed." He said he had been kept hanging for five months waiting for some sort of progress to be made to clear his name.

 

Mr Buchanan added: "What is important to Mr McIntyre is the question of his reputation and his maintaining his professional status." The counsel said the only communication, "if it could be called that", was through press reports that Mr McIntyre had picked up while suspended.

 

The Ibrox club is also being sued by its former chief executive, Martin Bain, who has raised a claim for £1.3m alleging that Rangers repudiated his contract of employment.

 

Lord Hodge had already ruled in the arrestment proceedings brought by Mr Bain that there was "a real and substantial risk" of insolvency at Rangers if they lost an appeal against a £49m tax and penalties bill owed to HM Revenue and Customs. The tax case is scheduled for more hearings in Edinburgh next month.

 

In his first TV interview since taking over the club, Mr Whyte told STV News the club suspended Mr McIntyre and Mr Bain as they were being "investigated".

 

He added: "We will fight the court cases. These are people who have taken a lot of money out of Rangers over the years and maybe havenâ??t done the best of jobs in running the business. And I think they have a cheek in saying some of the things they say, in suing Rangers for even more money."

 

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/west-central/286391-rangers-fc-settle-300000-damages-claim-with-former-director/

[Bears 0]

This annoys me on so many levels!!!!!

[BrahimHemdani 1]

The way Mr Whyte has dealt with this is just a huge embarrassment and has probably cost a bundle in legal fees for absolutely nothing.

[pete 2,499]

The way Mr Whyte has dealt with this is just a huge embarrassment and has probably cost a bundle in legal fees for absolutely nothing.

 

Respectfully agree.

[GovanAllan 0]

You could also say he saved a bundle, because there's no way McIntyre got all he was asking for.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

You could also say he saved a bundle, because there's no way McIntyre got all he was asking for.

 

You are probably correct about that but then if he had offered say 6 months salary when he took over then I am fairly sure it would have been accepted and then we would not have had all this unseemly mess.

 

Ditto Bain, by the way.

[GovanAllan 0]

Trouble is BH none of us know if that wasn't done and McIntyre said no I'm taking this to court. Whyte says ok I'll see you there, we get to court both sides have had time to settle down the judge asks them to find common ground, which has happened to me. Both sides get to talking and a compromise is meet, this happens day in day out in the real world.

 

Just a pity that because it's Rangers it has to be splattered all over the papers.

 

Agree on the Bain bit it will be settled soon i think unless they really have found something in the mysterious Emails. Here's hoping he can settle with HMRC to, then its happy days and we get on with 4iar.

Edited December 9, 2011 by GovanAllan

[BrahimHemdani 1]

Trouble is BH none of us know if that wasn't done and McIntyre said no I'm taking this to court. Whyte says ok I'll see you there, we get to court both sides have had time to settle down the judge asks them to find common ground, which has happened to me. Both sides get to talking and a compromise is meet, this happens day in day out in the real world.

 

Just a pity that because it's Rangers it has to be splattered all over the papers.

 

Agree on the Bain bit it will be settled soon i think unless they really have found something in the mysterious Emails. Here's hoping he can settle with HMRC to, then its happy days and we get on with 4iar.

 

My understanding is that no such offers were made and that Whyte believed that by suspending them he would gain the advantage; it's the way he does his business that I don't like. If they were made offers, then from what little I know of the two I would have said that McIntyre was the more likely to settle and in his case it was for much less money. It is not clear if any substantive allegation was ever made against him and I know for a fact that he had a very difficult job balancing the demands of the bank with the needs of the Club.

 

I am equally sure that it would be in the interests of both parties for the Bain case to be settled without further delay.

 

You would have thought HMRC would also have settled by now but the fact that they haven't indicates to me that Rangers can't afford even a "small" settlement and that HMRC believe that they have a strong case or perhaps that both sides have the same belief.

[khan 0]

McIntyre is one of the people who were presiding and responsible for this mess, he is and was incompetent at best. Bain will be shittin himself at today's development, he has more to lose and hide.

HMRC have such a strong case that they allowed this to go to a FTTT, HMRC if they had such a strong case could have insisted on going directly to the second tier which is binding, the fact that they did not tells its own story, they are flying a kite hoping it stays up.

[pete 2,499]

McIntyre is one of the people who were presiding and responsible for this mess, he is and was incompetent at best. Bain will be shittin himself at today's development, he has more to lose and hide.

HMRC have such a strong case that they allowed this to go to a FTTT, HMRC if they had such a strong case could have insisted on going directly to the second tier which is binding, the fact that they did not tells its own story, they are flying a kite hoping it stays up.

 

I hope you are right on all accounts.