The legal dispute involving the co-founders of Web Summit is set to be heard in a nine-week trial, starting from March of next year. For more than two years, the attorneys entangled in the five High Court proceedings have been meticulously reviewing millions of records as they prepare to share essential documents with the rival teams.
Three years ago saw the initiation of the first among the contested lawsuits. In September 2021, legal proceedings were propelled by the tech events company and its CEO, Paddy Cosgrave, who owns an 81% stake in the business. The lawsuit is against David Kelly, holder of a 12% company share.
The main accusation against Kelly is that he sought to covertly deploy the resources of Web Summit to establish an investment fund for his personal profit, claims which Kelly refutes. He and fellow stakeholder, Daire Hickey, who owns 7% of the company shares, have initiated separate lawsuits against the tech company and Cosgrave, asserting the suppression of their rights as minority shareholders under section 212 of the Companies Act, 2014.
Kelly alleges that Cosgrave utilised the business’s social media profiles and financial resources for personal endeavours while Hickey accuses Cosgrave of not adhering to corporate governance standards and attempting to forcibly remove him from the firm. Cosgrave has countered, alleging that Hickey engaged in undisclosed profit-making activities.
The minority shareholders have also individually pursued lawsuits against the firm and its CEO, alleging violation of a supposed profit-sharing agreement. All allegations within these cases are refuted.
Mr Justice Denis McDonald, on Monday morning, heard that the cases are now prepared for trial commencement and provisionally scheduled the start of the hearings for March 18th.