The High Court granted Allied Irish Banks plc summary judgment for €333,980.45 against Thomas Mullane, after finding that he had not raised an arguable defence to the bank’s claims. Mr Justice MacGrath delivered the judgment on 11 July 2019.
The sum comprised €106,595.96 on a loan account ending 691, €7,112.75 on an overdraft account ending 188, €180,271.74 on a loan account ending 857, and €40,000 under a guarantee for debts of Knockdown Construction Limited. Mr Mullane accepted liability for the guarantee.
The dispute over accounts 691 and 188 arose from Mr Mullane’s investment in the Fifth Belfry Properties Fund. He alleged that an AIB employee, Mr John Lenihan, urged him to invest €100,000, described the investment as one he “couldn’t go wrong” with, and said an overdraft would cover interest at no cost to him. Mr Mullane said he lacked investment experience, was not given a prospectus before signing, and was not warned that he could lose the investment. The fund’s value later fell, and he said he was told he could not withdraw the balance.
AIB disputed those allegations. Its evidence was that the prospectus warned of investment risks and that the loan repayment did not depend on the fund’s performance. The bank also argued that any claim based on misrepresentation was out of time.
The judge treated the investment-related accounts differently from account 857. He said Mr Mullane’s evidence about the alleged representations was uncontroverted and that he could not conclude, at the summary judgment stage, that there was no arguable defence or counterclaim concerning accounts 691 and 188. He also considered that the lending appeared prima facie to arise from the same series of transactions as the investment.
However, the judge found the limitation argument decisive. Mr Mullane’s evidence put his awareness of the fund’s falling value and his contact with the bank around 2008. He had not specified when he discovered alleged fraud or when it could reasonably have been discovered, and the judgment found no prima facie evidence that information had been concealed. The court held that reliance on section 71 of the Statute of Limitations 1957 did not assist him.
For account 857, the judge found that it arose from Mr Mullane’s personal accounts, despite money being transferred to reduce company debt. He concluded that this did not establish an arguable defence. The court therefore entered judgment for AIB in all the claimed amounts. The judgment records the summary judgment outcome; it does not report a plenary hearing.