The Rathwood home and garden furniture company, which recently exited examinership, has obtained a temporary High Court injunction restraining a warehouse company from disposing of furniture which Rathwood says is held for its benefit.
On Thursday, Judge Brian Cregan granted orders to barrister Arthur Cunningham for Rathwood Home and Garden World Ltd, restraining Carlow Warehousing Ltd from disposing of and requiring it to preserve the goods it holds pending further order.
The judge also granted orders permitting the service of proceedings outside the jurisdiction on a company called Paleo Furniture Company Ltd, which the court heard is based in China and has claimed the stock stored with Carlow Warehousing belongs to it. The application was made ex parte, meaning only Rathwood was represented in court.
Earlier this year, on foot of a petition presented by Paleo, along with another creditor of Rathwood, the High Court appointed an examiner to the business. It successfully exited examinership following approval of a survival scheme last July.
In an affidavit, Rathwood managing director Kevin Nolan said that under the terms of that scheme, unsecured creditors were to receive 0.25 per cent of their agreed debts, to include contingent and prospective liabilities due and owing as at the date the dividend is discharged. This was to be in full and final settlement of the creditor’s claims.
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The scheme also provided that a separate category of creditor who had retention of title (ROT) status must make any claim to Rathwood within 14 days of the effective date of the scheme. Failure to do so meant the ROT creditor would be treated as an unsecured creditor.
Paleo had ROT status in relation to a debt of some €258,000 while it was also owed some €2.8 million as an unsecured creditor.
Nolan said no claim was submitted by Paleo within the 14-day period or any time after.
As a result, the total dividend payable to Paleo came to €7,724 and Nolan wrote on August 19th, 2026 to Paleo asked for its payment details so the money could be sent on.
Paleo wrote back saying it had not intentionally waived or abandoned its rights to the stored goods and may have legal remedies to protect its interests. It did not accept its ROT rights had been conclusively surrendered.
In a second email reply, Paleo said its position remained that the stock belonged to it.
Paleo agreed to accept the €7,724 but continued to assert its rights over the stock. It also said it did not consent to the removal of the stock from Carlow Warehousing premises.
Nolan said solicitors for Carlow Warehousing, in September 2026, said they would comply with any High Court order but asserted that a lien against Paleo survived and the goods would not be released until ownership was proved.
Nolan said Rathwood requires its stock prior to the seasonal upswing of activity in the spring of 2027. The company is in a growth phase and would be severely compromised next spring if it is denied access to the stock.
The case returns to court next week.