The High Court has refused a self-represented defendant’s discovery application and ordered possession of a mortgaged property in Limerick to Start Mortgages DAC, after rehearing his appeal from a Circuit Court order.
Mr Justice Heslin delivered the ruling on 9 June 2023. The appeal by Denis Connaughton proceeded as a de novo hearing, meaning the High Court considered the matter afresh. The Circuit Court had ordered possession on 12 January 2023 and stayed execution for six months. It had also refused Mr Connaughton’s application for discovery.
The claim concerned a property at Slugaire, Dooradoyle Road, Limerick, held by the defendants under a registered folio. Start Mortgages relied on a mortgage created in 2005 and a registered transfer of the charge from Bank of Scotland to Start Mortgages in 2015. The judge said the folio was conclusive evidence of the registered ownership and found the mortgage secured the loan.
The court also found that the defendants had defaulted and that the secured sums had become due. Evidence included a loan account statement recording a €450,000 advance in November 2005, arrears and a demand for payment in March 2018. The judge noted that the last payment was €600 in April 2015. He found Start Mortgages’ application was made bona fide with a view to realising its security.
Mr Connaughton disputed the lender’s entitlement and alleged that documents and the assignment were suspicious or fabricated. The judge described these claims as unsupported assertions. He refused discovery, finding it inappropriate in the summary possession proceedings and unnecessary in light of the documents already provided. The court also declined to admit a 1 June 2023 affidavit from Mr Connaughton because he had not explained why its evidence was not put before the Circuit Court. The judge said that decision did not affect the outcome.
The court found no credible defence requiring a plenary hearing and said the tracker mortgage issue did not provide a defence to the possession claim. It also found no term had been identified as unfair. The final order refused discovery and granted Start Mortgages possession. The ruling does not award a judgment for a specific debt amount.