Pursue Eric ends of the earth’

Eric Watson, top left, and Owen Glenn’s initial friendship included time spent on Glenn’s 34m yacht Ubiquitous.

with very great caution.’’

Justice Nugee was similarly unimpressed with Miller, who gave evidence to support Watson. The judge said Miller was so confused and inconsistent in his evidence it was rendered unreliable unless backed up by documents.

The first deal Justice Nugee considered was the $9.5m investment Glenn’s entities made in a Watson property project called Edsel.

The contentious point was that Watson’s entities made considerably more than Glenn’s interests due to part of the deal being largely concealed from Glenn’s advisors.

The other complex deal probed was Project Spartan. The thrust of Spartan, as proposed by Watson and his associates, was for Glenn and Watson to enter a joint venture under Spartan Capital – a company based in the British Virgin Islands.

Spartan would buy an established business, already owned by Watson and a partner, that Glenn’s vehicle, Kea Investments Ltd, would buy for $43m.

The first pitch of the scheme was made in April 2012, on Glenn’s yacht in the Bahamas. Glenn approved the deal, with the details to be worked out later.

Justice Nugee found the pitch made to Glenn on his yacht ‘‘thoroughly misleading and deceitful’’.

The business didn’t exist and Watson expected to pay about $19m, not $43m for his partner’s shares.

The papers encapsulating the Spartan deal were finally signed in Los Angeles in July, 2012. The deal changed considerably from what was initially proposed.

Under the agreements, Kea would now pay about $23m for the goodwill (access to other opportunities) tied up in the various property rights Watson’s partner apparently owned. Kea would also provide a $100m loan to Spartan.

Justice Nugee accepted that under the new deal signed in July, Watson was effectively acquiring a 50 per cent stake in Spartan and access to $100m of Glenn’s capital without having to contribute anything at all.

He also accepted Watson had created an ‘‘elaborate charade’’ to hide the fact that the $23m would actually end up in his pocket rather than in the hands of any independent party owning the goodwill.

This, Justice Nugee said, amounted to Dickson and Miller being induced to enter the July agreements by fraudulent misrepresentations.

The judge found Watson had a special duty to Glenn’s vehicle Kea (but not to Glenn personally), to conduct the dealings so as not to exploit them for his own interests.

By February, 2013, the action had moved to Nevis, where Glenn’s daughter Jennifer Connah, a beneficiary under the trust, obtained an injunction suspending the powers held by Miller and Dickson and eventually got them removed.

In the meantime, the Spartan deal was not quite finished. Loan agreements transferring about $30m to Spartan had yet to be signed. Leahy hurried to get the agreements ready and Dickson signed them in the Philippines four days after the injunction.

Justice Nugee concluded Watson,

Leahy and Dickson knew the signing was done in breach of the Nevis injunction.

Glenn settled with Dickson and Miller in May 2014 in a confidential deal.

The final question for

Justice Nugee was how much Watson had to pay Glenn or Kea, given that due to the deceit and inducement, all the Spartan agreements Dickson and Miller had entered on behalf of the Glenn trust were void.

Paying back Kea the money invested was one option but that had been done. Four weeks into the trial, Watson’s trust, Novatrust, one of the other defendants, settled with Glenn. It paid Kea $160m, having already repaid $100m the year before.

That left Watson, and the compensation he should pay for having Kea’s money for five years. A further hearing was held in September. Watson agreed not to appeal and was to pay Glenn an interim payment of $50m for interest on the unlawfully obtained trust funds and $7.6m on account of Glenn’s legal costs by September 27. Kea was entitled to compensation from Watson to a maximum sum of $97m, the orders said.

Watson was also required to disclose what he had done with the Kea money and what profits were generated, furthermore provide an affidavit setting out his assets worldwide, their value and location.

On holiday in Delhi this week Glenn was enjoying his court victory and preparing for more skirmishes with Watson. He was again looking at making the Invincibles film and another about tiny weightlifter, Precious McKenzie. With his cancer in remission and his funds back under his control, he was bursting with new plans including extending his philanthropy.

He had no charity for Watson, however. ‘‘I will pursue him to the ends of the earth.’’