Courts / Mayo / Report
Woman overcharged by BOI fails in appeal to annul bankruptcy
Summary
The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal by Deirdre Dennis, who sought to annul her bankruptcy. Ms Dennis, represented by solicitor Evan O'Dwyer, argued that the High Court erred in refusing her application, claiming she was forced into bankruptcy due to Bank of Ireland (BOI) overcharging her on mortgage repayments. BOI, which was not a party to the proceedings, later admitted it failed to provide a tracker rate when Ms Dennis was entitled to one. The bank unreservedly apologised, withdrew its claim for €115,000, and acknowledged its error contributed to Ms Dennis losing her family home in Killala, Co Mayo. Ms Dennis was discharged from bankruptcy in 2018. In the High Court, Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington ruled that the reasons for setting aside the bankruptcy were outside the court's jurisdiction. On appeal, a three-judge panel comprising Ms Justice Caroline Costello, Mr Justice Brian Murray, and Mr Justice Donald Binchy, dismissed the case. Ms Justice Costello stated that while the court has discretion to annul bankruptcy, it requires extremely compelling reasons. The court found that even allowing for BOI's overstated liabilities, Ms Dennis was clearly insolvent in October 2017. The judges rejected the argument that she could have met repayments had they been correctly calculated, noting she would not have been able to do so. The court concluded it would not be just and equitable to annul the adjudication, emphasizing the collective nature of insolvency proceedings and the implications for all creditors.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Woman overcharged by BOI fails in appeal to annul bankruptcy. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- October 2017 Other
- June 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 2017 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2021-02-03 Publication
Case subjects
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- High Court
- Killala Road
- Seaview Terrace
Topics
Related court reports
- 'Most people come here to bring a little bit of calm into their lives': discrimination claim over yoga studio ban after anti-Christmas 'outburst' rejected
- 'Unfortunate situation' sees jury dismissed in trial of man accused of 'indescribably savage' murder
- Murder accused said he gouged flatmate's eye out when he came at him with knife
- Witness denies seeing deceased 'beating the s**t out' of murder accused
- Witness tells trial of moment she and son 'fled for their lives' after murder accused barged into home
- 'Almost indescribable savagery': murder trial jury hears man suffered 'serious violence'
If a fact, identity, locality or legal outcome needs review, email the newsroom with this report's details prefilled.
Email a correction request