Court case looms for Feltex five

Feltex's five former directors, who face criminal charges, could have their case heard this year.

Lawyers for former chairman Tim Saunders and directors John Feeney, Peter Hunter, Peter Thomas and John Hagen appeared in the Auckland District Court yesterday.

The Companies Office has laid criminal charges alleging that the carpet-maker's half-year accounts to December 2005 did not disclose that the publicly listed company was in breach of a loan agreement with the ANZ bank.

Lawyers for the five, David Cooper and Paul Davison, QC, asked Judge David Harvey to appoint a judge to manage the case.

Saunders, Feeney, Hunter, Thomas and Hagen were excused from appearing in court yesterday and have also been excused from the next call-over date on April 28. The five men are also facing civil action in the Auckland High Court.