A CO Offaly businessman who was committed to prison for being in contempt of court over his failure to hand over possession of machinery has left the jurisdiction, the High Court has heard.
At the High Court yesterday, Ms Justice Maureen Clark was told that gardaí were unable to execute a warrant committing Donal Rigney to Mountjoy Prison for failing to comply with orders to hand over possession of machinery used on construction projects in the Middle East.
A solicitor representing Lombard Ireland, which brought a motion to have Rigney committed to prison over his failure to return the machinery it had leased to the businessman and his company, told the judge that from their investigations, Rigney remained a free man, as gardaí were unable to enforce the warrant, and that he had left the jurisdiction.
The court heard from a legal representative of Rigney, who said they had been in contact with their client and that he had waited to be brought to Mountjoy by the Garda.
Lombard brought proceedings arising out of Rigney’s failure to return 17 pieces of machinery, including dumper trucks, cranes and excavators, located in Dubai. The equipment is worth an estimated €2 million.
The committal order was made last Monday by Ms Justice Mary Laffoy, who ruled that Rigney, a father of four from Gortacur, Mount Bolus, Tullamore, Co Offaly, remain in prison until he purged his contempt and complied with the order. The judge rejected Rigney’s claims that he no longer had control over the whereabouts of the machinery.
At the High Court, yesterday National Irish Asset Finance, which also entered into a number of agreements with Rigney for the lease and hire-purchase of construction machinery, applied to the court for orders seeking the return of its machinery.
Padraic Lyons, for National Irish, said his client was seeking the return of machinery which was the subject of 25 agreements it had terminated with Rigney last March. Mr Lyons said there could be “no dispute” that the machinery was the property of his client.
However, he l said that yesterday it was informed, for the first time, of the location of the machinery.
Some were in Dubai, others had been sold or scrapped, while a number were in Tullamore. Mr Lyons said that on two occasions, an agent of National Irish had been unable to collect any of its machinery in Tullamore.
Ms Justice Clarke, who adjourned the matter to tomorrow’s sitting of the High Court, said she wanted to know why the warrant committing Rigney to prison had not been executed.
The judge said her colleague would not have made the committal order if she did not expect it to be executed. She said she required an affidavit from the Garda tomorrow as to why the order had not been executed, and would also require an affidavit from Rigney in defence of the claim against him by National Irish.
The High Court yesterday also granted De Lage Langan Ireland, trading as ACC finance, permission to bring court proceedings arising out of Rigney’s failure to return leased machinery.
The court heard that a motion to have Rigney committed to prison was originally adjourned to October after Rigney had agreed to pay the company €30,000.
However, the court heard that that payment was not made. That matter was made returnable before the High Court on Wednesday, September 8th.