O’Flynns withdraw claims against receivers

Cork brothers Michael and John O’Flynn have told the High Court they would not be maintaining allegations of wrongdoing against four receivers appointed to their companies by Blackstone subsidiary Carbon Finance.

Cian Ferriter, counsel for the receivers, said the O’Flynn brothers and their companies had agreed not to maintain a claim for damages against the receivers whether the court eventually determined they had been validly appointed or not.

Mr Ferriter, who appeared for Paul McCann, Patrick Dillon, Mark Byers and Marcus Wide, told the court that “no allegations of dishonesty, bad faith, acting for improper purpose, conspiracy or intentionally acting unlawfully” were being maintained against them.

Michael Cush, counsel for the O’Flynns and their group of companies, confirmed to the court that agreement had been reached not to continue proceedings against the receivers.

He told Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan that the agreement did not include abandonment of the claim that if their appointments were invalid, the steps taken by them post-appointment were also invalid.

Mr Cush said from the O’Flynns perspective, the case was enormously urgent and, while applying to have it fast-tracked through the court’s commercial arm, he did not wish to lose the trial date of October 7 set by Ms Justice Mary Irvine.

Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan said she would accept the case into the commercial list on the basis that witness statements and submissions would be provided to the court. While she could not guarantee it would go ahead on October 7, she would not lightly vacate that date.

She also directed that McCann FitzGerald solicitors should remain on record for the receivers.

Last month, Ms Justice Irvine dismissed the interim examiner appointed to four O’Flynn companies on July 29 and directed Carbon Finance to immediately re-appoint the two brothers as directors of their companies. They had been removed following the appointment of receivers by Carbon.

The judge put the O’Flynns back in charge of their business and blocked Carbon from enforcing personal or corporate loans demands.

She also stood down the four receivers, revoking their appointment over certain assets and entities within the O’Flynn group.

Ms Justice Irvine also restrained new directors appointed by Carbon to the O’Flynn companies from purporting to act as directors of Colebridge International Limited or any other O’Flynn company.

The judge held that Carbon Finance had not acted in utmost good faith and had not fully disclosed all relevant information to the court on July 29 when Mr Justice Brian McMahon had agreed to Carbon’s application for the appointment of the interim examiner.

In May, Carbon Finance had bought from Nama €1.8bn in loans tied to O’Flynn Construction and within weeks had moved to appoint an interim examiner after having made demands for the immediate payment of €16.6m personal loans which Michael O’Flynn said he could have raised had he been given reasonable time.