The High Court has dismissed Joseph Delaney’s claims against Allied Irish Banks and two receivers, finding that his pleaded claims were either legally unstateable or bound to fail on the facts. The decision followed motions to strike out the proceedings; it did not determine a trial of the claims.
Mr Justice Cregan delivered judgment on 13 January 2015 in proceedings brought by Delaney against AIB, Declan Taite and Sharon Barrett. Delaney had lent €346,000 to accountant Gerard Killaly in six transfers between August and September 2008. Killaly did not repay the money and was later adjudicated bankrupt.
Delaney said he believed a long lease Killaly granted him over premises at 82 JKL Street, Edenderry, would secure the loan. AIB’s position was that the lease had been granted without the bank’s required prior written consent under its mortgage. In an earlier decision on an injunction application, the High Court held that the lease was not binding on AIB. The January 2015 judgment addressed the later strike-out motions, not a fresh determination of the injunction.
Delaney’s claims included negligence, an alleged property entitlement, breaches of the National Asset Management Agency Act, unjust enrichment, deceit and other allegations. The judge held that AIB owed no duty to warn Delaney about another customer’s financial position or advise him against lending, particularly where he had not sought advice and the bank was bound by customer confidentiality. The judge also found that the property claim against AIB was bound to fail on the agreed facts: the lease could bind Killaly but was unenforceable against the bank without its consent.
The court found no stateable basis for the statutory claims or for unjust enrichment against AIB, which had issued drafts at Delaney’s request and which Killaly lodged to his own account. It also rejected the other allegations as lacking a factual or legal basis. The judge said Delaney had suffered a severe financial loss but that this did not justify imposing liability on AIB or the receivers.
The court dismissed all pleas in Delaney’s various statements of claim against all defendants. The judgment records no damages award or costs order.