(Bloomberg) -- An Irish courtroom was silenced when Ryanair Holdings Plc’s outgoing Chief Operations Officer Peter Bellew conjured up an impression of the airline’s boss Michael O’Leary turning the air blue.
Leaning into the microphone for emphasis, Bellew told the Dublin hearing on Friday it was common for O’Leary to scream that he was “f--king useless” in meetings as relations between the pair began to sour.
Bellew added that he regarded the chief executive’s behavior as “extraordinary.” Ryanair declined to comment.
Bellew is giving evidence over a disputed non-compete clause that Ryanair invoked when he agreed to a new job with rival carrier EasyJet Plc. The Irish company says the COO has a stipulation in his contract that stops him working for a competitor for a year after leaving.
O’Leary has said a “monthly” problem emerged over Bellew not acting as instructed, while denying he wanted him to leave, and last week told the COO’s lawyer that some of the events he had described “simply hadn’t happened.”
A ruling is due on Dec. 20, though that could slip to Dec. 23, Judge Senan Allen said on Friday.
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