2024-02-16 · Offaly
Bid to obtain €1m judgement against couple struck out after 11-year delay
The High Court struck out a claim by financial fund Everyday Finance DAC against applicants Helen Bracken and Joseph Bracken, ruling that the delay in progressing the proceedings was inexcusable and inordinate. Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger dismissed the action, which sought over €1m in judgement regarding a defaulted loan originally advanced by AIB Plc in 2007 for a housing project in Ferbane, Co Offaly. The applicants, represented by solicitor Donnacha Anhold, opposed the claim and successfully brought a pre-trial application to have it dismissed on grounds of delay. They alleged they were prejudiced by the eight-year period between the commencement of proceedings in 2013 and the trial being set down in late 2021. The applicants rejected AIB's assertion that they signed a 2009 letter extending the facility, stating the signatures were not theirs and that they never consented to the alleged extension. The judge noted that the delay would render witness evidence fragile and unreliable, particularly given the absence of certain documentation and the serious injury sustained by Mr Bracken in 2017. She found that the balance of justice favoured dismissing the claim, rejecting the plaintiff's argument that dismissal would force a write-off of substantial debt. The court indicated a provisional view that the applicants were entitled to their legal costs. The matter was adjourned and will return before the court next month for final orders.