Decision later on injunction over IFA ads about Lidl milk

A High Court judge will give a decision later on whether supermarket chain Lidl should be granted an injunction over what it says are misleading and defamatory advertisements from the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA).

Mr Justice Senan Allen is to decide whether Lidl Ireland GMBH is entitled to orders that it desist from repeating the ads pending the outcome of its defamation proceedings against the IFA, its president Tim Cullinan and vice-president Brian Rushe.

The defendants opposed the injunction application, denied defamation and pleaded justification and truth.

Lidl says ads and statements from the IFA are to the effect that its own branded milk is not Irish, that it is engaged in unlawful and misleading practices or has misled its customers as to the origin of its products.

It claims the statements are false and extremely damaging to its business and its reputation.

It also claims that the untrue allegations have been repeated by senior IFA figures in media interviews and on its own website.

The injunction was sought on the basis that it believes the defendants have no defence to the claims that is reasonably likely to succeed at trial.

On Friday, Martin Hayden SC, for Lidl, argued this case was essentially about the provenance of the milk and the use of the word "from" in IFA adverts. It was part of an ongoing campaign against own-branding and how, in the IFA's world, this cannot be allowed happen, he said.

The IFA was not just wrongly claiming Lidl was misleading people by saying the milk does not come from the Republic of Ireland (RoI) when it does but was even falsely accusing it of criminal offences by being in breach of regulations under consumer protection laws, he said.

Lidl has provided the IFA with a full level of detail about where the milk comes from and how RoI milk is kept separate from cross contamination with non-RoI milk. Yet it continues to stand over the false claims, he said.

The ads claim the names on the milk cartons of Coolree and Coolbawn Creameries don't exist but these were merely brand names. The only inference that can be drawn from this is that the milk is from outside Ireland when it was not true, he said.

Eoin McCullough SC, for the IFA defendants, said his side would show at trial the truth of the ads.

It was true there were no such creameries as Coolbawn and Coolree and that purchasers should look for the National Dairy Council logo to be sure where the product comes from, he said.

One of the ads which Lidl complains of refers to eggs and soda bread from O'Connell's Farm which also does not exist. The defendants would also show at trial the truth about this, he said.

The IFA had put forward tenable and compelling evidence as to the practices of Lidl which are misleading and would be proved at trial, he said. It was not an appropriate case to grant an injunction.

The judge reserved his decision.

Online Editors