The High Court granted Allied Irish Banks plc and AIB Mortgage Bank judgment on two loan facilities owed by Patrick Whelan and Brian Whelan, while allowing a dispute over €5,000 to proceed to a plenary hearing. It also stayed execution of €470,000 of the judgment for three months while the defendants’ separate investment-advice claim was pursued.
Mr Justice Brian J. McGovern said the defendants had not established an arguable defence to most of the loan claim. The balances, including interest, stood at €21,255.64 on one facility and €2,659,869.75 on the other at 9 December 2014. The court directed that both figures be updated by agreement or affidavit to establish the sums due at judgment.
The €580,000 facility had been made to Patrick Whelan alone. Brian Whelan, in an affidavit on behalf of both defendants, alleged that about €5,000 lodged to reduce that debt had instead been diverted by the bank to another loan without consultation or agreement. The judge said the allegation was ambiguous but met the low threshold for an arguable defence on that point. He deducted €5,000 from the first facility’s balance and remitted the issue to a plenary hearing. He said he would hear counsel on whether that dispute should be sent to a court with jurisdiction over the amount.
The second facility was a €2.5 million loan to both defendants, restructured from an earlier development loan and repayable on demand before later being rescheduled for payment in May 2009. The judge said the defendants had not disputed entering the agreements or the outstanding figures presented by the bank.
The defendants also claimed losses of €390,000 and €80,000 respectively from alleged negligent investment advice by the bank or its agents. The judge treated this as an independent cross-claim, rather than a defence or equitable set-off against the loans, and said it should be pursued in separate proceedings. He stayed execution of €470,000 for three months to review what steps, if any, the defendants took to prosecute that claim.
The judgment records that the plaintiffs were entitled to judgment on both facilities, with the balances to be brought up to date. It does not finally determine the €5,000 issue or the investment-advice allegations.