The High Court granted Bank of Ireland Mortgage Bank judgment for €284,101 against David Mavroudis, while directing that a disputed €16,300 interest issue proceed to a plenary hearing.
In a judgment delivered on 21 February 2020, Mr Justice Meenan said the defendant did not dispute borrowing the money or failing to repay it in full. The bank had sought summary judgment of €300,401.66, plus interest accruing from 3 October 2015.
The claim arose from three loan facilities advanced in 2004 and 2007. The first, for €159,750, was originally provided by the Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland and later transferred to the plaintiff. The other facilities were for €55,000 and €240,000.
Mr Mavroudis, who appeared in person, raised a number of grounds for sending the claim to a full hearing. These included the legality of the loan transfer, advice he said the bank gave him about fixing an interest rate, the bank’s letters of demand, the appointment and conduct of a receiver over secured properties, consumer protection rules and alleged failures concerning a prospectus and covered assets.
The judge rejected those grounds as insufficient to establish a defence requiring a plenary hearing. He said the defendant had identified no legal defect in the transfer of the first loan, and that the mortgage deed permitted demand for all unpaid sums following default on any of the loans. The court also found no defence based on the receiver’s appointment or the consumer legislation and codes cited. The judge said any remedy for a property allegedly sold at an undervalue would lie against the receiver, rather than the bank.
The exception concerned alleged overcharging of interest, particularly on the 2004 facility. Mr Mavroudis estimated the overcharge at €16,201.08. The judge said this issue could not fairly be resolved on affidavit evidence alone and rounded the amount to €16,300 for a plenary hearing.
The court therefore entered judgment for €284,101, with any interest that may have accrued, and remitted the €16,300 interest dispute to plenary hearing. The judgment does not determine that disputed interest issue.