Chief executive of green energy firm secures High Court injunction preventing dismissal
Denis Collins: “vehemently” denies any impropriety or wrongdoing in relation to expenses claimed by him or on his behalf.
The chief executive of a Cork-based green energy firm has secured temporary High Court orders preventing his dismissal on foot of what he claims are “manufactured” allegations against him.
Denis Collins, head of Actionzero Escopod Limited, trading as Action Zero, sought the “urgent” orders on Wednesday following what he claims was a “flawed and grossly unfair” investigation process resulting in prejudicial findings against him.
He has been suspended without pay from his role, which has a €250,000 annual base salary, pending a disciplinary investigation that will assess proposed sanctions, Mr Collins’s counsel, Niall Beirne, told the court.
A disciplinary hearing to assess sanctions was scheduled to take place on Thursday, when Mr Collins was originally supposed to be engaged elsewhere.
The “manufactured” allegations assert fraudulent expense claims in the form of allegedly claiming excess mileage for a diesel car when the company allegedly provided an electric car, Mr Collins says in a sworn statement to the court.
He “vehemently” denies any impropriety or wrongdoing in relation to expenses claimed by him or on his behalf.
Action Zero was not notified of the application to the court on Wednesday, but Mr Justice Brian O’Moore was satisfied Mr Collins made out a good, arguable case to warrant granting the short-term injunctions while only the plaintiff was represented in court.
The court’s orders prevent Action Zero from dismissing Mr Collins or from putting into effect any steps towards disciplining, dismissing, removing or suspending him. They will remain in place until the action returns to court on Monday.
Mr Collins says the accusation of fraud by the company’s chairman, Pearse Flynn, is “amongst the most serious of allegations that could be levelled against a person in my position” and the implications of this will blight his career.
He says he has “never deliberately claimed expenses or falsified mileage expense claims in relation to travel distances”.
His gross expense claims for the 14 months leading to April 2023 totalled €6,600 and include phone bills, mileage, transportation, hotels, client events, professional subscriptions, and other miscellaneous items, he says.
Mr Collins says his expenses are submitted on his behalf by his personal assistant. It is possible an incorrect mileage rate was used but if this was done it was an error and not deliberate, he said.
The company, whose patented products include specialist heat pump technologies, had an annual turnover of about €2m last year and, Mr Collins says, he has positioned it for substantial growth throughout 2023 and beyond.
Mr Collins says he has had a “fractious relationship” with Mr Flynn, who convened a board meeting with just two-and-a-half hours' notice on March 31. Mr Collins claims he was “completely in the dark” about the nature of allegations being put before the meeting and did not know they concerned him.
He was “horrified” by the statements made by Mr Flynn at the board meeting in which he recited alleged claims by another employee in relation to Mr Collins’s mileage expenses.
Mr Flynn is not a personal defendant in the action and has not yet had an opportunity to address the claims before the court.
Mr Collins claims Action Zero has sought to maintain that he was not suspended but had in fact agreed during the board meeting to step back from his role pending investigation. He says he was in a “state of shock” during the meeting and never willingly agreed to step back.
Action Zero appointed an investigator who Mr Collins believes was biased and not competent to conduct an investigation. He alleges the company departed from its disciplinary procedures in purporting to commence an investigation against him.
Outlining his “unimpeachable” career, Mr Collins said he worked for one of the world’s largest technology companies as managing director and global executive.
He says he has since March 31 been anxious to meet the “grave allegations” against him, but has been consistently denied a fair and lawful process by the defendant.
The investigator has purported to conclude her investigation “in the teeth of threatening High Court injunction proceedings”, he said.
She has found him guilty of gross misconduct, but her report “contains nothing approximating clear reasoning to support this finding” and contains a number of “gravely prejudicial inaccuracies”, he alleges.
Mr Collins says he gave considerable thought to the seriousness of taking High Court litigation and tried to remedy matters through solicitor correspondence.
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