JM Kelly squashes rumours, moves forward with business
JM Kelly bosses react to allegations being made about money owed by JM Kelly (Project Builders) Pty Ltd, which went into liquidation two months ago.
Rockhampton
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ABOUT half of the outstanding debts owed by JM Kelly (Project Builders) Pty Ltd when it went into liquidation have been paid.
JM Kelly Pty Ltd general manager John Murphy and group director Geoff Murphy spoke with the media today about allegations being made about money owed by JM Kelly (Project Builders) Pty Ltd, which went into liquidation two months ago.
They also spoke about where the liquidators were in relation to paying back the $2.2 million owed by the Project Builders entity of the group of building companies.
One of the allegations made was that the debt owed was not $2.2 million, but over $30 million and growing.
"The debt was only ever about $2.2 million," Geoff said.
"And roughly 50% of that has been paid."
"JM Kelly continues to act professionally and follow correct business and legal processes to rectify matters, but it makes it difficult to resolve them when there are people out there not following due process and making misrepresentations," John Murphy said.
"Even after we have released statements of our cooperation with creditors for JM Kelly Builders Pty Ltd to pay all legitimate claims as well as continue with all current contracts, there has been ongoing misrepresentations that can be attributed to a small number of people - only one of which actually has a legitimate claim that is currently being handled through the appropriate legal processes.
"These claims are not a true representation of the facts and are either already in the process of being dealt with using the appropriate course of action or are disputes that occurred many years ago and were not resolved in their favour."
There are four parties that have made allegations against JM Kelly (Project Builders) in the public domain - The Barlow Group Pty Ltd, Mackay Labour Hire Pty Ltd, Patrick Kirwan Pty Ltd and John Goss Projects Pty Ltd. See more about the allegations below.
John said it was unknown how much longer it will take for liquidators FTI Consulting to get through the rest of the claims.
"We think it is a good progress (50% in two months) and a lot of contractors and suppliers are still performing work on our contracts. We've picked up other contracts since June so from our point of view, it is business as usual," he said.
He said the contracts included school jobs, from Yeppoon to Roma and Longreach, Tolga in far north Queensland and Pottsville in northern New South Wales.
Geoff said the business had also picked up quit a bit of government work as part of those jobs.
Here is JM Kelly Builders Pty Ltd's reaction to the four companies making claims in the public:
The Barlow Group Pty Ltd
Recent communications inferred by the Barlow Group Pty Ltd allege they are owed significant sums of money by JM Kelly (Project Builders) Pty Ltd on a job completed in 2013. These were variation claims on a government project led by JM Kelly (Project Builders) Pty Ltd that were later rejected by the government department Contract Superintendent involved as invalid. The Barlow Group Pty Ltd subcontract was terminated.
Read the previous story with The Barlow Group Pty Ltd here: Documents reveal millions owed to JM Kelly's creditors
Mackay Labour Hire Pty Ltd
Any statements by Mackay Labour Hire Pty Ltd in relation to JM Kelly owing them significant sums of money are based on their court proceedings which were contested by JM Kelly (Project Builders) Pty Ltd and from which there has been no judicial decision yet handed down. JM Kelly (Project Builders) Pty Ltd maintain that there are no sums owing to Mackay Labour Hire Pty Ltd.
Read the previous story with Mackay Labour Hire Pty Ltd here: Murphy court case over 'unpaid $600K' takes big toll on Mick
Patrick Kirwan Pty Ltd
Through his letter in The Morning Bulletin, Mr Kirwan urges others to "fight for justice" against JM Kelly (Project Builders) Pty Ltd. Patrick Kirwant Pty Ltd has a historical dispute with JM Kelly (Project Builders) Pty Ltd dating back to 2013 when JM Kelly (Project Builders) was informed that Patrick Kirwan Pty Ltd intended to cease trading with immediate effect and would not be completing a then-current subcontract. Throughout the dispute JM Kelly (Project Builders) maintains Patrick Kirwan Pty Ltd has no reasonable legitimate claim it is owed anything from JM Kelly (Project Builders).
John Goss Projects Pty Ltd
John Goss Projects Pty Ltd has incorrectly represented the facts surrounding its dealings with JM Kelly (Project Builders) Pty Ltd. John Goss Projects has been denied payment by JM Kelly (Project Builders) on the basis of its failure to comply with the relevant contractual requirements in respect of payment of suppliers and contractors. There has been no failure to pay John Goss Projects or any money owing to it.
Originally published as JM Kelly squashes rumours, moves forward with business
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