The High Court has refused to allow Zeeko chief executive Joe Kenny to represent his company personally in a proposed challenge to the Department of Education’s school mobile-phone pouch procurement process.
Caraglass Limited, trading as Zeeko, wanted to judicially review the Department’s decision of May 30, 2025 to cancel an initial procurement process for phone pouches. Kenny told the court that Zeeko had submitted what he described as the most competitive tender and was in a strong position to succeed.
He also sought interim relief and raised safety concerns about rival products. He said informal tests carried out after cancellation showed that pouches supplied by competitors could be set on fire.
The immediate legal issue, however, was whether Kenny could appear in court for the company without a solicitor or barrister.
Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty said the established rule is that a limited company must normally be legally represented. Exceptions are rare and require circumstances where applying the rule would cause a serious injustice.
The fact that Zeeko said it could not afford a lawyer was not enough. Nor was Kenny’s role as chief executive or his detailed knowledge of the procurement process.
The court also examined whether the proposed challenge itself disclosed circumstances serious enough to justify an exception. It noted that procurement challenges are generally subject to a 30-day time limit. The original process had been cancelled on May 30, while the court application was made in July.
Kenny argued that time should run from June 14, when he carried out the informal fire tests. The judge rejected that position. She found the tests were not independently verified and did not establish that dangerous products were about to enter the market.
By the hearing date, a second procurement process had also concluded, with Zeeko and one other company successful.
The court therefore refused Kenny permission to represent Caraglass in the intended proceedings. The ruling did not determine the merits of any properly constituted challenge brought by the company through lawyers.