A Co Kilkenny company director was told by a High Court judge yesterday he faced jail if he did not pay £4,800 in wage arrears by next Monday.
Mr John Lanigan, of Jerpoint Church, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, a director of Quality Machinery Imports Ltd, was told by Mr Justice Kelly that, unless he paid the money by noon on Monday, he faced imprisonment for contempt of court and would be kept there until he purged his contempt.
On October 20th another High Court judge, Mr Justice O'Sullivan, ordered Mr Lanigan to pay Mr Anthony Maguire, of Wood lawn Park Grove, Firhouse, Dublin, arrears in wages of £200 a week from June 24th last pending the trial of an action between the two men.
Yesterday Mr Michael Howard, for Mr Maguire, who is also a director of Quality Machinery, said no monies have been paid to his client despite Mr Justice O'Sullivan's order.
Mr Martin Hayden, for Mr Lanigan, told the judge that Quality Machinery was insolvent and had ceased trading. That was the reason for the failure to pay over the monies.
Counsel said he could not explain why this situation had not been brought to the attention of Mr Justice O'Sullivan during the October hearing.
Mr Lanigan told the court he had been in a car accident and had been unable to attend court until yesterday. He said he had massive liabilities and did not have £4,800 to pay Mr Maguire.
Cross-examined by Mr Howard, Mr Lanigan said he had been living on his wife's money for some time. He had tried to get a loan of £4,800 from the bank to pay Mr Maguire but had been refused.
He acknowledged that he and two other business associates had purchased a pub in Clonmel but denied that some of his land in Co Kilkenny was subject to a local authority compulsory purchase order.
Mr Justice Kelly said the excuse now being given was that Quality Machinery was no longer solvent. But insolvency did not occur overnight, he said.
He found it extraordinary no mention of the company's finances had been made at the October court hearing. It was also extraordinary that no attempt had been made since then to apprise the court of the auditor's and accountant's reports.
He was not satisfied that Mr Lanigan's position was as bad as was made out and found it difficult to believe that the position was as stated.
The judge said he believed the defendant had enough assets to comply with the court order.
He made an order committing Mr Lanigan to prison but said he would put a stay on this until noon next Monday. If the £4,800 was paid over by that time, his order could be discharged, Mr Justice Kelly said.