The Court of Appeal has dismissed George Magan’s appeal against a High Court judgment ordering him to pay Castletown Foundation Limited €571,893 in rent arrears. The court also refused his application to introduce extensive new evidence and arguments on appeal. The judgment does not determine the merits of his separate counterclaims.
Magan had occupied Castletown House in County Kilkenny under a letting agreement made in December 2010, which set annual rent at €100,000 plus VAT. The agreement expired in December 2013, but he remained in occupation under its terms. The last rent instalment had been paid in July 2012, according to the judgment.
Castletown Foundation sought rent arrears and declarations concerning termination of the tenancy and Magan’s claimed right to a new tenancy. Magan did not dispute the agreement, his liability for rent or the amount claimed. He argued that claims for maintenance costs and damages arising from alleged trespass provided a defence through equitable set-off.
The High Court granted summary judgment. On appeal, Mr Justice Murray said the maintenance claim was based on an alleged 2005 agreement involving a company controlled by Magan, rather than the foundation, and was not sufficiently connected to the rent claim. He also upheld the High Court’s interpretation of clause 2.7 of the 2010 agreement, which barred the tenant from setting any sum off against rent.
The alleged trespass and forcible entry claims could not themselves provide a set-off, the appeal court said. The High Court had discretion to stay enforcement pending a counterclaim, but the appeal court found no basis to interfere with its decision not to do so. The trespass claim had not been quantified, and the foundation had not been aware of the Residential Tenancies Board referral when it re-entered the property, according to the judgment.
Magan also sought to introduce nearly 500 pages of material alleging serious wrongdoing by trustees and others in connection with trust assets, borrowing and the sale of Castletown and its contents. Those were allegations presented by Magan; the foundation had not responded to them in the appeal. The court found the new material would not undermine the legal basis for the High Court orders and declined to reopen the judgment. It stressed that it was not deciding whether Magan had viable claims, or whether Irish courts had jurisdiction to hear them.
The €571,893 had already been paid to the foundation in January 2019. The court said Magan remained free to pursue his counterclaims, subject to ordinary legal requirements and issues arising from his bankruptcy. The appeal was dismissed. The court left any costs orders for later consideration and directed the foundation to notify the Court of Appeal office within ten days whether it would seek costs.