Director of three building firms warned he may face jail for contempt

A DIRECTOR of three building development companies who breached court orders to give full details of the companies’ accounts to a receiver has been warned by a High Court judge he will definitely go to jail for contempt unless he complies with orders within weeks.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly also indicated Mervyn Walsh, with addresses at Lansdowne Village, Ballsbridge, Dublin, and in Monaco, may face future proceedings by the Director of Corporate Enforcement given the “poor state” of the accounts of his companies, two of which are in receivership with debts of some €30 million.

The judge made the remarks when dealing with proceedings by Declan Taite, the receiver of Largreen Ltd and Sherside Ltd, alleging contempt by Mr Walsh of court orders aimed at procuring full information on company accounts and facilitating the sale of houses on estates in Wexford and Portlaoise built by another of Mr Walsh’s companies, Event Horizon Ltd.

Mr Taite was in December last appointed receiver over Largreen and Sherside by Bank of Ireland and later that month took court proceedings against Mr Walsh, his sister Dorcas Walsh, and Event Horizon Ltd, which is involved in the building developments in Portlaoise and Wexford and of which Mr Walsh is also a director, in which a settlement was agreed. Mr Taite later alleged breach of that settlement. In light of alleged contempt of those orders, Rossa Fanning, for Mr Taite, yesterday brought a motion for attachment and committal to prison of Mr Walsh for contempt. Counsel said the breaches were frustrating the receiver’s efforts to sell houses this year.

Bernard Dunleavy, for Mr Walsh, said his client conceded failures on his part and regretted those.

Mr Walsh did not have answers to many of the queries raised by the receiver over the accounts, including about large numbers of cheques drawn, but was prepared to give various undertakings to the court, including to meet with the receiver to answer queries and to try and get microfiche copies of cheques.