The other defendants were Simco, the production company behind The X Factor; Big Deal Music, a publishing company that in 2013 Mr Ryan allegedly signed a contract with; Universal Music Publishing; EMI Music Publishing and Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd.

The case was briefly mentioned before the High Court today.

Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds was due to fix a date for the hearing of a pretrial discovery motion brought by lawyers acting for the plaintiff.

However, the court was informed that a hearing date was not required and with the consent of all the parties the entire proceedings could be struck out.

Source: RTE