Aberken and Hyper Trust settle FBD Covid cover claims

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Aberken and Hyper Trust Ltd, trading as The Leopardstown Inn, had substantially settled most remaining legal issues with FBD over Covid-19 business interruption claims, the High Court was told on 3 November 2022.

The remaining issues largely concerned the amount of losses payable to the Dublin publicans. Their counsel said the parties still needed to finalise certain matters and sought an adjournment to Friday, 4 November.

Both sides also sought court clarification, and potentially declarations, on legal principles in any final settlement agreement because the outcome could affect other pubs and restaurants with similar claims. FBD raised concerns about the wider implications of the agreement.

The dispute followed an earlier ruling that FBD’s policy covered losses pubs suffered when forced to close during the pandemic. The other two test-case businesses had resolved most claims, with their legal costs still pending.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.