The High Court granted summary judgment to Northern Bank Limited trading as Danske Bank against Michael and Bridget Quinn on a guarantee capped at £500,000, plus interest from 3 December 2012. Mr Justice Hedigan delivered the judgment on 23 June 2014.
The bank’s application was based on its claim that the couple guaranteed debts owed by Cloughvalley Stores Northern Ireland Ltd, that the company failed to pay after demand, and that the defendants did not pay under the guarantee. The defendants sought to defend the proceedings, arguing in part that they had been denied access to company documents they said would support an alleged breach of contract.
The judge said the defendants’ separate Northern Ireland proceedings challenged the appointment and conduct of Tom Keenan as administrator. They did not challenge Cloughvalley’s debt to the bank. The documents sought by the defendants were connected to those proceedings and could be pursued there, the judge said; he found they had no relevance to the Irish case, which concerned enforcement of the guarantee.
The defendants raised nine grounds, including that Ireland was the wrong jurisdiction, that there was no contract with the bank or consideration, that they lacked independent legal advice, that the claim was statute-barred or insufficiently particularised, and that no demand had been made of the company. They also relied on the Northern Ireland proceedings and challenged the bank witnesses’ evidence.
The judge rejected those grounds. He held that the defendants had not challenged jurisdiction in time and that they lived within the Irish jurisdiction. The guarantee identified the bank as the other party, and its recital of advances, credit or banking facilities provided consideration. The evidence showed the bank had advised the defendants to seek independent legal advice, which they waived. Because the guarantee was payable on demand, the judge said the limitation period ran from the demand in October 2011; the Irish proceedings had issued on 19 December 2012.
The court also found the claim was adequately particularised, that written demand had been made of the company on 30 November 2011, and that the bank employees’ evidence based on its books and records was admissible as prima facie evidence. The judge said the company’s property had been sold and the proceeds applied against the debt, leaving about £3.9 million due—well above the guarantee limit.
Finding no arguable defence, the judge held that the guarantee was valid, the principal debtor had defaulted and the guarantee had been called in without payment. He entered summary judgment for £500,000 plus interest from 3 December 2012.