A construction company in charge of building 12 apartments and two shops in Blackrock, Co Dublin, was granted a High Court order yesterday preventing a contractor from serving a petition to wind it up.
The application to prevent the petition was made by J. McLaughlin and Co against Lisadell Construction Ltd, of Ludford Road, Dublin, which had been the main contractor on the project since 1994.
In an affidavit, Mr Patrick McLaughlin, of Torquay Road, Foxrock, Co Dublin, said that the defendant was demanding payment of a debt of £28,125 on threat of issuing a petition for the winding up of the company.
He claimed to have already paid Lisadell a total of £645,172 on foot of certificates for payments due issued by the project managers, Spain Courtney Doyle. This included a part payment in respect of a final certificate. He was withholding the balance of £28,125, as it would exceed the contract price.
Mr McLaughlin claimed that if the intended petition was issued and advertised, it would cause irreparable damage to the creditworthiness and financial standing of the company.
In an replying affidavit, Mr Mel Columbe, a director of Lissadell, claimed that the plaintiff was merely seeking to avoid payment in full of the agreed final account now that the project works were complete and the units in the development had been sold.
Mr Justice Barron said that it would be an abuse of the process of the court to issue a petition to wind up the company when there was a dispute about a debt.