The High Court has declined to overturn a Circuit Court possession order concerning James Walsh’s home in County Dublin, rejecting his argument that a 2012 agreement with Permanent TSB allowed him to settle his loan liabilities by paying €18,604.
The Circuit Court granted the possession order on 18 January 2018. Mr Walsh appealed, and the High Court heard the matter afresh. In a judgment delivered on 31 January 2019, Mr Justice Max Barrett concluded that the evidence did not establish the agreement Mr Walsh relied on.
Permanent TSB’s amended civil bill claimed that two loans had fallen into arrears and that Mr Walsh had not repaid the secured sums despite a written demand in November 2014. The bank said its powers to take possession of and sell the mortgaged property had become exercisable. Those were the bank’s claims set out in the pleadings.
A central issue was a meeting in March 2012 at a hotel in Bray between Mr Walsh and a bank representative, Mr Keenan. A form brought to the meeting listed both mortgage account references and an outstanding balance of €18,604. Mr Walsh said Mr Keenan told him that paying this amount would mean nothing further would happen. The court observed that the form referred to both accounts, contrary to the bank’s later claim that it concerned only the €38,000 loan account, but said that point did not decide the appeal.
The judge considered two later letters from Mr Walsh. He found they read as updates about Mr Walsh’s efforts to pay what he owed, rather than evidence of a concluded restructuring agreement. The judgment also addressed the rule in Pinnel’s Case: a promise to accept less than a liquidated debt is generally unenforceable. It then considered promissory estoppel, but found no clear and unambiguous promise had been established. The judge added that the evidence did not show Mr Walsh had changed his position to his detriment in reliance on such a promise.
The High Court therefore declined to interfere with the Circuit Court’s decision. The judgment does not set out a separate new possession order or specify further enforcement steps.