Court enforces terms of disputed €3.5m contract

TWO BUSINESSMEN said to have insufficient funds to complete a €3.57 million contract to buy a shareholding in a company have been ordered by the Commercial Court to pay the €2.15 million balance due under the contract.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly made the judgment order yesterday against James McIntyre, Boyne Hill, Navan, Co Meath, and Brian McDonagh, Limekiln Hall, Dublin Road, Navan, after finding they had advanced no arguable defence to the application.

Gabriel Gavigan, for Pádraig Kiernan, Mullaboy, Kilnaleck, Co Cavan, and Richard Devlin, Ballytoohey, Tarmonbarry, Co Roscommon, had sought the order arising from an agreement of September 26th, 2008, under which the defendants agreed to purchase the plaintiffs shareholding in Ovenfeast Ltd and Ovenfeast Intelligence Ltd for a €3.575 million.

Ovenfeast produces a computerised solution for use in baking procedures which effectively means if, for example, a company produced pizzas, all of those pizza products would be identical, Mr Gavigan said.

A condition of the agreement provided was that the defendants would pay a non-refundable deposit on its signing. That sum was paid as agreed and additional sums of €1 million, plus €50,000 interest, were later paid.

The defendants later argued they were not required to complete the contract on various grounds but Mr Justice Kelly ruled none of those raised an arguable defence. He noted one of the grounds was that there was no agreement between the sides to extend the contract completion date when a letter from the defendants own solicitors referred to such an agreement.

The judge was also told the defendants did not have the funds to pay the amount due but he said that could not make the defendants’ obligations under contract any less. The defendants had failed to honour their obligations he said. He granted judgment for the €2.15 million balance, plus interest of €25,000.