Ornua Co-operative Ltd, which sells products on behalf of dairy processors and farmers, is suing VF Cold Stores, which stored 3,360 pallets of frozen butter when the racking collapsed on July 25, 2018, in its Jamestown Road premises in Finglas, Dublin.

Ornua is also suing Capendu Ltd, of Dunboyne, Co. Meath, which VF Cold Stores says installed and maintained the racking system.

In a separate but related case, four other companies in the Kepak meat processing group are suing the defendants in relation to damage to their products as a result of the collapsed racking.

Kepak Group Ltd, Kepak Convenience Foods, Kepak Longford and McCarren Meats of Cavan claim 850 pallets of meat products were damaged.

The case was admitted to the Commercial Court list by Mr Justice David Barniville who was told the defendants were neutral in relation to the application to admit the case.

In its proceedings, Ornua says that following the incident, a difficult and complex process of sorting and segregating some 41,000 cases of product of different customers was undertaken.

This included staff having to work in temperatures of minus 18 degrees celsius and ensuring traceability requirements of the product as required by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine were complied with.

Colin Kelly, Ornua’s head of strategy planning and risk management, said in an affidavit the final figure of losses has still not been quantified but the company considers the claim to be in the region of €8.95m and may exceed €9m.

Kepak director Robert Grogan said in an affidavit while its assessment was ongoing, it was estimated the total value of the loss to Kepak and McCarren exceeds €1m.

Kepak’s insurer has agreed to indemnify and the proceedings are being prosecuted as a subrogated claim by the insurer.