Imro must continue to pay CEO pending court action, judge rules

The chief executive of the Irish Music Rights Organisation (Imro) should continue to be paid pending the outcome of court proceedings challenging his dismissal for alleged gross misconduct, the High Court has directed, but he should not resume his duties with the organisation.

Mr Justice Thomas Smyth said that, given the "very fundamental differences" between Imro and Adrian Gaffney and the breakdown in trust and confidence between the sides, it would be "inappropriate" for Mr Gaffney to resume his duties with Imro.

He was giving his ruling on an application by Mr Gaffney for an injunction permitting him to continue in his position pending the outcome of the full hearing of his action against Imro.

A date for the full action has yet to be set but the judge made directions yesterday designed to facilitate a hearing before the end of this year.

In his brief decision, the judge said this was one of the "very, very rare" cases where, at the conclusion of the interlocutory injunction application, he would decline to make any remarks "even of a most preliminary nature".

This was "a very finely balanced dispute'" between the sides, he said.

While he considered it inappropriate to grant an order that Mr Gaffney resume his duties with Imro, he would make a "Fennelly-type order" provided that certain conditions aimed at procuring an early hearing of the full action were met by both sides.

A Fennelly type order effectively means that the person should continue to be paid their entitlements pending the outcome of court proceedings.

Having made directions for the exchange of a claim and defence in the action, the judge said he proposed, subject to any serious matters which may arise, to enter the action with priority into this month's court list for the fixing of dates for hearing.

He also reserved the costs of the injunction application.

The judge also remarked that it was anticipated the order providing for the continued payments to Mr Gaffney would not survive the length of the next court term (which concludes on December 21st). "I am saying no more," he said.

He said both sides could have liberty to apply to the court, including liberty to apply for continuation of the payment order.

During the injunction hearing, the judge was told that Mr Gaffney was first employed by Imro in 1995 and became chief executive in 2000. Imro employed 30 people and had 5,000 members.

On June 29th last, Mr Gaffney was purportedly dismissed from his position following a hearing of an Imro board disciplinary committee of June 27th, the court heard.

Mr Gaffney strongly rejected all the grounds for his dismissal which arose from a number of allegations concerning his business expenses, allegedly misleading the board in relation to a salary advance to an executive and an alleged failure to bring to the attention of the board a PricewaterhouseCoopers report.

Imro had contended there was no case for Mr Gaffney to return to his workplace and it would be unprecedented to grant an order allowing him back into his job.