{"id":487390,"date":"2026-05-16T07:59:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T07:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/487390\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T07:59:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T07:59:11","slug":"john-magnier-sued-by-building-tycoon-over-alleged-anti-competitive-block-on-vet-and-stud-services-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/487390\/","title":{"rendered":"John Magnier sued by building tycoon over alleged anti-competitive block on vet and stud services \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maurice Regan<\/a>, the US-based building tycoon, has filed a High Court action against billionaire racing boss John Magnier<\/a> and his stud business, alleging they have breached competition law by barring Regan from using an equine hospital and Coolmore Stud<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The legal action escalates the conflict between the two billionaires that began when they clashed in 2023 over rival bids for the Barne Estate<\/a> farm outside Clonmel.<\/p>\n

In a legal action filed on Friday, Regan\u2019s Newtown Anner Stud Farm Ltd, which is also based outside Clonmel, has sued Magnier, his son MV Magnier, Linley Investments trading as Coolmore\/Castlehyde and Associated Stud Farms, Trans European Transport Ltd, and Coolmore executives Michael Ryan, William Macksey, Jerome Case, Paul Shanahan and David Wachman. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Byrne & Halley Veterinary Surgeons Ltd, Fethard Surgical Ltd and Equine Diagnostic Laboratory Ltd, in which Magnier has ownership interests, are also named as co-defendants. <\/p>\n

The High Court summons alleges the defendants have breached Irish and EU competition law through anti-competitive practices and abuse of a dominant position in the market.<\/p>\n

Newtown Anner Stud is seeking a declaration prohibiting Magnier and Coolmore from instructing, directing, inducing, threatening or otherwise causing any third party including the Fethard Equine Hospital from ceasing or disrupting services to it.<\/p>\n

\"MaresMares and foals graze beneath Slievenamon at Coolmore Stud in Fethard, Co Tipperary. File photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill <\/p>\n

The Regan stud wants a declaration that any concerted practice between the defendants that led to the Fethard Equine Hospital ceasing its provision of veterinary services to Newtown Anner is a breach of EU competition law. <\/p>\n

Newtown Anner Stud is also seeking an order that the defendants provide goods and services, including the provision of \u201ccovering services\u201d and veterinary hospital services, on terms no less favourable to those made available to other businesses.<\/p>\n

The legal case from Regan\u2019s stud farm also seeks an award of damages, which includes damages \u201cfor causing loss by unlawful means and\/or intentional interference with economic relations\u201d.<\/p>\n

Regan was described as a \u201cdark force\u201d by lawyers for Magnier last year in the Coolmore owner\u2019s unsuccessful action against the Barne Estate that sought to stop the Thomson-Moore family from selling their 751-acre home and farm to Regan for \u20ac22.25 million.<\/p>\n

The High Court heard that in 2023 Regan wrote in a text to a third party that he hooped a newspaper article about his bids for Barne would give Magnier a \u201cheart attack\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"MauriceMaurice Regan alleges John Magnier and his stud business breached EU competition law. Photograph: Collins Courts <\/p>\n

Last January a Coolmore source said the \u201cheart attack\u201d comment and others from Regan were among the reasons Regan\u2019s horses were no longer welcome in Coolmore or the Fethard Equine Hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere a Coolmore client has made threats and expressed a hope that its principal will have a heart attack, that\u2019s hardly conducive to good client relations,\u201d the source said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the sort of business Coolmore either wants or needs, and I imagine that also applies to its various investments including Fethard Equine Hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Coolmore source said the decision to cut professional links with Regan was a cautionary measure, citing issues of security, as well as reputational and safety concerns for Coolmore.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Man to face trial over three counts of attempted murder following Stoneybatter attacksOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

In response to the move to block Newtown Anner\u2019s access to Coolmore and the equine hospital, a spokesman for Regan said in January they were \u201cextremely surprised\u201d by the \u201clack of sportsmanship and this unjustified attack on the welfare of our horses\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can it be normal or proper that Coolmore can control which veterinary practice can receive and care for Maurice\u2019s horses at Newtown Anner Stud? What is going on? Bulldozer law continues,\u201d the Regan spokesman said.<\/p>\n

Asked about the \u201cheart attack\u201d comment in the stand in the Barne case, Regan said it was Magnier who told others that he was \u201cat war\u201d with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, all\u2019s fair in love and war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Magnier had denied being \u201cat war\u201d with Regan, but told they court they were \u201cat loggerheads about buying land\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, to this day we\u2019re doing business every day,\u201d he said in the stand last summer.<\/p>\n

Regan made his fortune through his New York-based building firm JT Magen. He also owns the Mercantile Group, which has 11 pubs and venues in Ireland that include well-known Dublin bars Caf\u00e9 en Seine, The George and Whelan\u2019s.<\/p>\n

His spokesman declined to comment on Friday. <\/p>\n

A Coolmore spokesman said it declined to comment on matters that are the subject of legal proceedings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maurice Regan, the US-based building tycoon, has filed a High Court action against billionaire racing boss John Magnier…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487391,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,10,73088,18,13,14,6,10476,19,17,46276,11,12,15,16,5,7,8],"class_list":["post-487390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-coolmore","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-high-court","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-john-magnier","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116583200448583940","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}