The High Court refused applications by Paul Coyle to remove Decobake Limited’s liquidator and to compel him to file statutory winding-up statements, while also rejecting the liquidator’s request for an extension of time. The court confirmed seven people as members of the company’s committee of inspection and ordered Mr Coyle to pay the costs of two motions, with those costs to be treated as costs in the liquidation.
Mr Justice Allen delivered the judgment on 18 February 2020. The motions arose during the liquidation of Decobake, which was ordered to be wound up in July 2017. Declan De Lacy was appointed official liquidator. The Court of Appeal dismissed Paul and Margaret Coyle’s appeal against the winding-up order in June 2019.
The judge determined that the committee of inspection comprised Malcolm O’Mahony, Catherine Kennedy, David Kiernan, Deirdre Murphy, Paul Coyle, Margaret Coyle and Andrew Moffat. He found that meetings Paul Coyle had purported to call in May and June 2018 were not properly convened because notice had not been given to each committee member. The creditor-appointed members therefore had no obligation to attend, and their absence did not vacate their positions. The court refused the liquidator’s request to leave a vacancy unfilled after Susan Woods resigned, finding that the application had not established the required basis for doing so.
Mr Coyle’s motion to remove Mr De Lacy was refused. The judge rejected the allegations against the liquidator, including claims concerning the handling of creditor claims, the committee’s access to information and the costs and conduct of related litigation. The judge also found that Mr Coyle, his wife and Mr Moffat were conflicted in relation to information about the company’s trading and litigation, and that it was appropriate for the liquidator to brief other committee members in their absence on those matters.
The court separately refused Mr Coyle’s motion seeking compliance with section 681 of the Companies Act 2014, which requires periodic statements about the progress and position of a winding-up. The liquidator had filed forms that were rejected by the Companies Registration Office. The judge was not satisfied that the liquidator had shown grounds for either extra time or a direction disapplying the filing obligation.
The court also refused Mr De Lacy’s request for an extension of time. It did not decide whether section 681(4) gives the court power to extend time after the statutory intervals have passed. The judgment said the liquidator had not shown what remained to be done, when it could be completed, or that filing the required information would harm the liquidation.
Mr Coyle’s motion to set aside the winding-up order and his application concerning discovery from separate proceedings were also refused. The court ordered him to pay the costs of the liquidator’s committee-membership motion and his own motion to remove the liquidator. No costs order was made on the section 681 motions. The judge left Ms Murphy’s costs for further argument.