Michael Flatley has secured an emergency injunction to prevent any interference with a planned 30th anniversary Lord of the Dance show in Dublin.
The Lord of the Dance and Riverdance star obtained this temporary order at the High Court in Belfast after it had earlier been announced that Thursday's night performance had been cancelled due to an ongoing legal row.
This legal dispute is centred around an ongoing battle between Michael Flatley and entertainment company Switzer Consulting Ltd over control of the stage show of Lord of the Dance. The latter alleged that Flatley had breached a July 2024 service agreement for it to oversee the touring operation.
In response, Mr Flatley is countersuing Switzer in a case which is set to be heard later this year.
This comes as a judge had lifted an interim ban on Flatley, which banned him from working on any forthcoming shows.
News regarding the cancellation of Thursday's show was confirmed by Switzer's solicitor who said that the planned 3Arena show was called off with "immediate effect", due to reported ongoing commercial and legal issues which could not be resolved in the available timeframe.
The High Court granted this emergency injunction, which sought to prevent any interference with the planned running of any production.
It was granted by Mr Justice Simpson ahead of a further hearing where Switzer's legal team will make their submissions. This decision was welcomed by Michael Flatley.
This is part of a wider lawsuit which was first submitted by Switzer following disputed allegations over Flatley's financial affaires. It has also been disclosed that Michael Flatley has now formally terminated his contract with Switzer over the staging of Lord of the Dance.
The company have said that with 268 shows booked across Europe and North America, Flatley has put this schedule in jeopardy.
Having reportedly received close to £430,000 in royalties over a 15 month period since he had first agreed this deal, it was then claimed that this arrangement began to break down when Flatley "went on a solo run" towards the end of last year in order to restructure what had been set up.
The hearing was also informed of a letter sent by Mr Flatley's former financial advisor, saying that the choreographer has a history of running tours at a loss and liquidating companies.
It read: "Many promoters were reluctant to deal with Michael directly as he has an industry-wide reputation for not paying his bills".
It was also claimed that Mr Flatley had feigned ignorance or a lack of understanding in order to avoid debit obligations. The letter also claimed that Flatley had used other people's money to a false appearance of wealth.
"Since 2019 Michael has lived the lifestyle of a Monaco millionaire without the funds to do so", the letter claimed. "In the bluntest terms he was faking it on a multi-million euro scale".
It was also alleged that Flatley lost millions in further borrowings due to a series of "horrendous" business mistakes, which came at a time when he had no income, and was in hot water financially.
"Michael's appetite for lifestyle cash was insatiable, including borrowing €75,000 for his birthday party and €50,000 to join Monaco yacht club, all during a time when he had no income other than borrowings", his former business associate said.
Elsewhere in the hearing, Mr Flatley's legal team told the court that the attacks on their client's character and business acumen had no bearing on the case.
The court also hear that a deed of trust had shown that he had a controlling shareholding of Switzer, who were only entitled to a management agent's fee. This agreement had said that it was to receive £35000 per month, rising to £40,000 after the first two years.
They also heard how Mr Flatley had relied on his former advisor and had been informed that this five year agreement bought the business back under his control.
It also raised questions over the company's financial status, stating that no official employees were listed until new accounts were submitted showing that the company had net assets of more than £2 million.
The court later refused an application for an injunction by Switzer to prevent Flatley from being involved in these shows, with the judge ruling that imposing such a prohibition would lead to "potentially unquantifiable" losses for Flatley, who still owns intellectual property in Lord of the Dance.
Last Summer, Flatley was one of several celebrities who were spotted enjoying Oasis at Croke Park, where he even met Noel and Liam Gallagher's mother Peggy. More on this here.
