Businesswoman threatened to drive through window of receiver’s office, court told

A business woman threatened to drive her vehicle through the front window of the offices of a receiver appointed over properties belong to her husband, the High Court has heard.

Receiver Declan Taite, of Duff and Phelps, claims Maireád Barry engaged in acts of intimidation and made threats against him, his family and certain employees of the company.

As a result, lawyers representing Mr Taite are seeking various court orders against Ms Barry, of Cairn Woods, Ballyviniter, Mallow, Co Cork.

These include an injunction preventing Ms Barry, her servants and agents, behaving in a threatening, abusive, intimidating and insulting manner towards Mr Taite and his associates.

He also seeks orders restraining her attending at or entering his company’s offices at Stephen’s Green in Dublin 2. He further seeks damages against for alleged harassment and intentional inflectional of emotional suffering.

In a sworn statement, Mr Taite said he was appointed receiver over three properties in Mallow belonging to Ms Barry’s husband, Tim Sheahan.

In 2017, he and another insolvency practioner were appointed by a financial fund as receivers over several apartments at St Lua’s Apartment Complex, Iona Drive, North Circular Road, Limerick.

He claims those apartments were sold in 2020 to a company of which Ms Barry is a director for €1.5m. It is alleged an issue has arisen regarding that transaction.

Mr Taite claims the defendant and the purchasing company have not signed a B10 form to the Company Registration Office indicating a change in the board of the company that manages the apartments.

Mr Taite said he does not understand why the form has not been signed but this issue provides background to Ms Barry’s recent behaviour.

When the receivers contacted Ms Barry about the B10 form, her response was “troubling”, he said.

When he spoke to her earlier this year, she was abusive and threatening in a sustained manner, he said.

He said she had sought various documents from Duff and Phelps and the company was attempting to deal with her requests.

Mr Taite said, in conversations with Ms Barry, she threatened to “get me” and said he would “go down for this”.

He ceased all direct contact with Ms Barry, and said she was informed to only communicate through the receiver’s solicitors.

In recent days Mr Taite said she had telephoned his employers and told the person she was speaking to she would drive her vehicle through the front window of Duff and Phelps’ offices.

Mr Taite said, arising out of the threats, he made a complaint to the Garda who, he said, told him her threats are credible and should be taken seriously.

Mr Taite said, as an experienced receiver, he was used to being involved in contentious matters.

Given the nature of the threats and the Garda response, he was left with no option other than to bring proceedings before the High Court, he said.

When the injunction application came before Mr Justice Senan Allen on Friday, the judge, on an ex-parte basis, granted Mr Taite permission to serve short notice of injunction proceedings against Ms Barry.

The matter was adjourned for a week.