The High Court has restrained the majority shareholders of DAF Truck Services (Cork) Limited from removing long-serving director Patrick Ferriter until shareholder oppression proceedings are tried.
In a judgment delivered on 28 November 2025, Ms Justice Eileen Roberts granted an interlocutory injunction preventing the proposed removal of Ferriter, who founded the business and has served as a director since 1985.
Ferriter owns 30% of the company and his son Stephen holds 4%. Three corporate shareholders each hold 18%, giving them a majority between them. They had arranged an extraordinary general meeting to consider removing Ferriter under the Companies Act 2014.
The majority shareholders said the proposed removal arose from concerns about Ferriter’s performance as a director, including his response to historic financial and governance problems uncovered at the company. Ferriter disputed those claims. He alleged that the move was intended to restrict his access to financial information and his ability to scrutinise decisions relevant to his ongoing oppression case.
That substantive case, begun in 2022, includes allegations that the majority shareholders acted in the interests of another DAF-related business they own and sought to exclude Ferriter and his son from management. Those allegations are denied and remain to be decided at trial.
The central issue on the injunction was Ferriter’s claim that DAF Truck Services operated as a quasi-partnership. If established, that could give him an entitlement beyond ordinary company law to remain involved in management despite being a minority shareholder.
Ms Justice Roberts stressed that the court was not deciding whether such a quasi-partnership actually existed. However, she found the claim went beyond a bare assertion and raised a serious issue for trial.
The judge also found that damages might not adequately compensate Ferriter for losing participation in board meetings, real-time access to information and the limited scrutiny he retained as a director.
The court concluded that the least risk of injustice lay in preserving the existing position until trial, which was expected in 2026. The majority shareholders were given liberty to seek to lift the injunction if Ferriter delayed the case or unreasonably obstructed board business.