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* Judge says non-compete clause unenforceable
* Says ban unjustifiably restrictive
* Ryanair says it will appeal
(Adds background, details)
By Conor Humphries
DUBLIN, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Irish High Court on Monday
rejected Ryanair's attempt to prevent operations chief
Peter Bellew from joining rival easyJet until 2021,
saying a 12-month non-compete clause was unenforceable.
The Irish airline said it had instructed its lawyers to
appeal.
Ryanair had argued during two weeks of hearings that Bellew
possessed information of immense competitive value and was bound
by a non-compete clause that the airline said should prevent him
from starting work at the British low-cost rival until January
2021.
Lawyers for former Malaysia Airlines chief executive Bellew,
denied he was subject to the clause, saying it was attached to a
share option scheme they said was effectively valueless.
They also argued that the restriction against working for
"any airline that competes with Ryanair in any market," was
overly broad.
Judge Senan Allen said that while the non-compete clause was
valid it was also unjustifiably restrictive by preventing Bellew
from joining any airline, not just those in the same part of the
market as Ryanair.
"I find that the covenant in this case, properly construed,
would prevent the defendant from taking up employment with any
European airline, including the legacy carriers, and so goes
beyond what the plaintiff has shown to be justified," Allen said
in his judgment.
Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary had told the court
that he would not have an objection to Bellew joining a
higher-cost "legacy carrier", but that information Bellew
possessed could be damaging to Ryanair in the hands of a
low-cost competitor.
The judge said what was relevant was the wording of the
non-compete clause - which was deemed in the ruling to be too
broad - not how Ryanair intended to enforce it.
During the court case, Bellew told the judge that he
believed the clause could apply to airlines all over the world
who sell short-haul tickets that compete with Ryanair as part of
multi-leg long-haul journeys.
Bellew left his role as CEO of Malaysia Airlines two years
ago to return to Ryanair, where he had been director of flight
operations before leaving in 2014.
(Reporting by Conor Humphries, editing by Louise Heavens and
Jane Merriman)
