The High Court has granted Bank of Ireland Mortgage Bank summary judgment against Brian Kane for €1,746,613.95, together with further interest, over three loans secured on 16 properties. The ruling was delivered by Mr Justice Meenan on 24 May 2019.
The judgment records that the outstanding principal balances, calculated as of 26 February 2019, were €908,064.55, €590,106.54 and €189,452.09. Kane did not dispute that the bank had advanced the money or that it had not been repaid in full. He had made payments on the accounts up to 1 February 2019.
The loans were issued in 2007 and 2008 to refinance facilities with other lenders and release equity in properties. The court said none of the 16 properties securing the loans was Kane’s family home. Three properties were under receivership, but the judge said disputes about that receivership were outside these proceedings.
Kane relied on consumer protections concerning contracts made away from business premises and unfair terms in consumer contracts. The judge found he had not established the circumstances required for the doorstep-selling regulations to apply. On the unfair-terms argument, the court noted Kane had not identified particular terms he considered unfair. Although the judge examined the agreements, he made no finding on whether Kane was a consumer and concluded that no term he reviewed could be considered unfair under the regulations.
The court also refused Kane’s request to refer a question about the doorstep-selling directive to the Court of Justice of the European Union. It found a referral was unnecessary because the directive had been transposed into Irish law and considered in other court decisions.
The judgment concluded that the bank was entitled to the sums sought. The judge added that the dispute might have been resolved without court proceedings, but did not state why that had not happened.