Paschal Phelan, founder of several Master Meat firms, takes the stand today in the long-running High Court actions involving himself, Mr Larry Goodman and others. Mr Phelan is seeking damages from Mr Goodman and Mr Phelan's former partner in Master Meats, Middle Eastern businessman Mr Zacharia El Taher. Mr Phelan claims there was a conspiracy between Mr Goodman, Mr Taher and others to force him out of the Master Meats group in the 1980s.

Mr Justice Murphy yesterday rejected a preliminary application by Mr Phelan to dismiss an action for £15 million in damages taken by 12 Master Meat firms against him and Master Cut Foods, which he controls. The judge also rejected preliminary applications by Mr El Taher and his son to strike out notices of indemnity and contribution served on them by Mr Goodman and Master Meat firms.

The applications were brought as part of complex legal actions involving Mr Phelan, Mr Goodman, Mr Taher, several Master Meat firms and others.

The judge said the present case by the 12 Master Meat firms against Mr Phelan and Master Cut dealt with 32 alleged misappropriations. On November 1st last, Mr Phelan and Master Cut had applied to strike out, on grounds including alleged illegal conduct by Mr Goodman, the firms' claim.

Dismissing that application yesterday, the judge said the firms' claim against Mr Phelan and Master Cut has been opened but not proved to the court. To visit the alleged illegality, conspiracy and/or fraud of Mr Goodman on the firms was not supported by the legal authorities. For some of the period in which the misappropriations were claimed, the firms were not linked to Mr Goodman.

It was significant, the judge said, that there was no denial in Mr Phelan's affidavits of any of the 32 allegations of misappropriation. The court was aware of the "general denial" in the defence. Several matters relating to the allegations of misappropriation and illegality required further evidence.

Claims regarding alleged abuse of court process by Mr Goodman could relate only to present proceedings and not proceedings dating back to 1988, the judge also found.

On Mr Phelan's application for trial of an issue as to the firms' entitlement to maintain their proceedings against Mr Phelan and Master Cut in the context of alleged wrongdoing by Mr Goodman, the judge said Mr Goodman was not a party to the present proceedings and seven matters relied on to support the claim of wrongdoing by Mr Goodman were not all established facts. In all the circumstances, he would not order trial of the issue sought and would not strike out the firms proceedings.

In a separate decision, the judge rejected on all grounds the Tahers' application to strike out the notices of indemnity and contribution served on them by Mr Goodman and Master Meat. He said the court's decision of September 11th last - that the agreement under which Mr Taher sold his interest in the Master Meat companies to Mr Goodman was in breach of the joint venture agreement between Mr Phelan and Mr Taher - had not determined issues on which the court would have had to reach a determination before it could grant the application.