The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Roscommon property owner John Lawless over the registration of Pepper Finance Corporation (Ireland) DAC as owner of mortgage charges on three properties.
Mr Lawless is the registered owner of properties in Folios RN810F, RN26057F and RN15714F in County Roscommon. He borrowed about €3.145 million from ACC Bank plc in 2008 and granted a mortgage over the properties. He did not dispute either the mortgage's validity or his failure to repay the borrowing.
ACC's mortgage interest was transferred to Pepper in August 2019. The Property Registration Authority rejected Pepper's first two applications to register the transfer but accepted a third. Pepper was then registered as owner of the charge.
Mr Lawless argued that the earlier abandoned or rejected applications prevented Pepper from making another application. He also sought declarations that the charges were unlawful and orders restraining sale of the properties.
The High Court dismissed his proceedings in 2025 because the pleadings disclosed no reasonable cause of action. Mr Lawless appealed that decision.
Mr Justice Charles Meenan, delivering the Court of Appeal judgment, found no legal or factual basis for the argument that an unsuccessful registration attempt barred a later application. The court said the Property Registration Authority has a statutory role in maintaining the register and that abandonment of an application does not prevent future applications.
The court also upheld the High Court's finding that Mr Lawless had not pleaded material facts showing that the transfer from ACC to Pepper was invalid. A party cannot simply require defendants to prove the validity of a transaction without first identifying a sustainable legal claim against them.
The appeal was therefore dismissed. The court's provisional view was that the Property Registration Authority and Pepper were entitled to their appeal costs, subject to any written submissions Mr Lawless might make within 14 days.