In short

A round-up of today's other courts news in brief

A round-up of today's other courts news in brief

Golden Discs survival plan to save 77 jobs

A survival scheme for the Golden Discs retail group was approved by the High Court yesterday.

Under the scheme, 10 stores and four franchised outlets will continue as going concerns with 77 jobs saved.

The group had operated 20 stores, including six franchised stores.

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The scheme arises from the appointment last February of an interim examiner after the court was told the group’s total liabilities were some €9.5 million and that it was insolvent.

Sony Music Entertainment made the application for an interim examiner in its capacity as one of the group’s largest unsecured creditors and supplier of some 30 per cent of its music products.

The examiner, Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton, then prepared a survival scheme in consultation with the creditors.

Yesterday, Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan approved the survival scheme after hearing a number of measures had been taken including the closure of loss-making stores.

A new investor called Capeview Ltd is to invest €250,000 in the business and there will be sufficient funds after the company has discharged written down debts to creditors for the group to continue to operate.

The court heard previously that a Golden Discs financial adviser believed the insolvency was due to significant rent increases across several stores, especially those in Dublin city centre.

Fine for verbal abuse of garda

A man who verbally abused a garda has been fined €125 for public order offences.

Seán Mackey (28) from The Gasworks, Ringsend, pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to offences arising out of an altercation with Garda Aidan Doyle in Lower Grafton Street on December 29th last year.

He denied telling Garda Doyle: “Who the f*** do you think you are. Why don’t you get a real job?”

Judge Patrick McMahon was told that Mackey had a previous conviction for violent disorder.

Cadbury injury claim settled

A young woman who sued Cadbury over severe injuries sustained when her hand and arm were pulled into a snack wafer-making machine has settled her High Court action on undisclosed terms.

Katharine Fuller’s left arm and hand were badly mangled after a machine roller at the Cadbury plant in Coolock, which she had switched off in order to free up a blockage, suddenly started rolling again.

Ms Fuller (34) a mother of one, Merville Road, Stillorgan Co Dublin, sued Cadbury Ireland Ltd over the incident on October 21st, 2004.

Yesterday, Mr Justice Bryan McMahon was told the matter had been resolved. He welcomed the settlement and agreed to strike out the case. No terms of settlement were revealed but liability had been admitted in the case and it was before the court for assessment of damages only.

Ms Fuller, a line manager, had claimed Cadbury was negligent and in breach of their duty of care to her by allowing her to use a machine that was unsafe and exposing her to a risk of damage and injury.

She claimed, in the course of her work, she noticed a blockage on a ‘‘snack wafer’’ machine.

To free the blockage, she claimed she switched the machine off and then placed her left hand into the machine to remove the cause of the blockage with her fingers.