TWO BUSINESSMEN have been awarded €1.26 million damages against a Northern Ireland businessman over breach of oral agreements under which he took over a farm machinery business in Co Louth.
In awarding damages to Aidan O’Connor and Anthony Russell, Mr Justice Peter Kelly said he had sympathy for the position in which they found themselves after permitting Graeme Robinson to take over their Ruscon Engineering business in early 2008 prior to him paying them for their shares.
They were never paid and a receiver has been appointed to the business which the plaintiffs built up over 30 years, the judge noted.
A warrant was previously issued for the arrest of Mr Robinson, Feeney Road, Derry, for the purpose of being brought before the court to answer claims of contempt of court orders restraining the removal of machinery from the Ruscon Engineering factory at Tullyallen, Co Louth.
Mr O’Connor and Mr Russell, both with addresses at Sheepgrange, Tullyallen, had sued Mr Robinson and his companies, Ruscon Agri Sales and Agrispares Northern Ireland, over alleged breach of oral agreements and representations by Mr Robinson on foot of which the plaintiffs permitted Mr Robinson take over the Ruscon business in early 2008.
The plaintiffs had talks about an employee buyout of the business before agreeing to sell their shares to Mr Robinson. They allowed Mr Robinson take control of the company in January 2008 following an oral agreement by him undertaking to pay them €1.02 million for their shares.
They claim Mr Robinson had no intention of honouring that agreement and instead misappropriated Ruscon’s assets to his own benefit and the benefit of his companies which, they alleged, were vehicles for fraud.
On Monday last, Mr Justice Kelly granted an application to strike out Mr Robinson’s defence to the action arising from his failure to comply with discovery and other orders in the proceedings.
The full action against Mr Robinson and his companies then came before Mr Justice Kelly at the Commercial Court yesterday.
There was no appearance by or on behalf of the defendants and Mr Justice Kelly granted an application by Colm Mac Eochaidh SC, for the plaintiffs, to award damages of €1.26 million, including interest.
The judge also granted declarations that any benefit accruing to the defendant companies arising from Mr Robinson’s actions were held on trust for the plaintiffs.
The judge previously found Mr Robinson had provided “utterly implausible” explanations for “extraordinary activity” at the Ruscon factory last December, including intimidation, assault and the cutting of a hole in the factory roof so as to take out machinery and then move it to Northern Ireland.
The businessmen alleged they saw machinery being removed from the plant on December 3rd, just hours after the High Court granted an order restraining such removal and freezing the defendants’ assets below €1.2 million.