Judge tells Offaly businessman he must settle debt dispute to avoid conviction

AN Offaly businessman has been given until September to settle a €140,000 debt dispute with another man.

If Palfinger owner Seamus Kane resolves matters in the High Court with Corkman Eamon Brien he will not be convicted in the District Court of an offence arising from an encounter between the pair in Tullamore on June 28, 2019.

Seamus Kane, Holmshill, Blueball was found guilty last July of producing an article, a steel tube, which was capable of inflicting injury and likely to intimidate another, in the course of a dispute at Palfinger Ireland Ltd, Church Road, Tullamore.

A day-long hearing before Judge Catherine Staines had been told that Mr Brien, the owner of a Cork shopfitting business, had called to Mr Kane's premises in Tullamore to discuss a €140,000 debt for work his company had done on the Spar store on the Arden Road in Tullamore.

Words were exchanged during an argument and Mr Kane was seen on CCTV footage holding the tube, remonstrating with Mr Brien and then throwing the tube away.

Judge Staines adjourned sentencing to last September for Mr Kane to engage with the restorative justice service and having read the service's report, she said the accused had co-operated fully.

Mr Kane had also written a letter of apology to Mr Brien, and following a request from the man that a donation be made to charity, the accused had donated €1,000 to the Offaly Domestic Violence Support Service.

The court also heard last September that Mr Kane's solicitor was holding €80,000 on account in relation to what his client would say was the differential between what is owed to the claimant and what was outstanding.

Judge Staines was told that a conviction would be “catastrophic” for Mr Kane because he travelled a lot for his business.

Judge Staines said she was anxious that the civil dispute would be settled because such cases could “go on for years and years and years” but she indicated the defendant would be left without a conviction if the civil matter was resolved because that was “the background to the whole thing”.

Once the civil case was settled “fairly between the parties” Judge Staines said she would apply Section 1.1. of the Probation of Offenders Act.

Application of the Probation Act means that while a charge has been proved, the accused person is left without a conviction.

The matter came before Judge John King at Tullamore District Court yesterday (Wednesday, March 23) and Patrick Fox, solicitor for Mr Kane, sought an adjournment to September, saying the civil case is scheduled for mention in the High Court on April 4 next.

“We are making progress,” said Mr Fox.

Judge King said there was a need to “speed things up” and repeated what Judge Staines had indicated if the civil case is resolved.

“That's a big carrot,” said the judge.

Mr Fox agreed that it was and said the court date in April would provide an opportunity to discuss matters with the other side.

Judge King adjourned the case to the sitting of the District Court on September 7, stating the adjournment was peremptory against Mr Kane.

At the hearing in July last year, after Mr Kane had pleaded not guilty, Mr Brien told the District Court he had been abused verbally over the phone by the accused about debt arising from the shopfitting work in Tullamore in 2018 and numerous meetings had been cancelled.

He said he then called to Mr Kane's place of business to discuss the debt but was told by the other man to “Get the f... out of here” and was threatened by Mr Kane as he stood less than two feet away from him with an iron bar.

Mr Brien also said he had previously worked with Mr Kane on a Spar shop at Patrick Street in Tullamore for a “smaller contract” worth about €25,000 and everything went very well and it was done properly and paid for; unlike the second job, which was done properly and not paid for.

In his evidence, Mr Kane said he had been working in his workshop's steel cutting area when Mr Brian called and though he did get annoyed and angry, he denied holding a bar over Mr Brien's head.

The background to the dispute over the amount owed was that Mr Brien's workers were still on site after the store opened and in January 2019 the shopfitting company was told of different issues and meetings took place with a Spar representative and with Insomnia because the Insomnia coffee station was fitted the wrong way around.

Mr Kane said he had no problem if Mr Brien repaired what had not been done and quantified what he was owed.

Mr Kane said a civil case had been taken against himself and Cayenne Holdings, a development company of his which rents his properties out.

Mr Kane said he had a lot of businesses and probably turned “around close to €30m a year” and had a lot of suppliers to pay but on the first Thursday of each month himself and his partner did the cheque run.

Mr Kane denied telling Mr Brien to “f... off out of the premises” and instead had said “Can you please leave?” and pointed to the door.

Convicting Mr Kane, Judge Staines said while she did not believe Mr Kane intended to assault Mr Brien, she believed he had the tube and banged it down during what was a highly aggressive encounter.