The High Court has allowed Peter Roger Wright-Morris to commence proposed proceedings against Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited (in special liquidation) in England. The order, made under section 6(2)(b) of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Act 2013, permits proceedings on the basis of and for the reliefs set out in his exhibited proposed Claim Form. It does not decide the merits of his claim.
Wright-Morris says Anglo Irish Bank Corporation plc mis-sold him an interest-rate collar derivative in 2004 and breached duties and rules governing its conduct. His proposed English claim seeks damages for negligence, misrepresentation, breach of contract and statutory duty; rescission or restitution concerning the derivative; interest; costs; and other relief. These remain allegations, not findings by the High Court.
The dispute arose from banking business Wright-Morris conducted with Anglo at its Manchester branch while he lived in England. The judgment says the parties’ creditor-debtor relationship is governed by English law and that their 2004 customer agreement gave the courts of England and Wales exclusive jurisdiction over disputes connected with it.
IBRC’s special liquidators opposed permission. They argued that the claim might be time-barred under English law, questioned whether Wright-Morris could set damages off against his loan debt, and said that without set-off any successful claim might leave him as an unsecured creditor in the liquidation. They also questioned why he had rejected a proposed undertaking giving seven days’ notice before enforcement of security. Wright-Morris’s side said the undertaking was inadequate and that English courts should determine the substantive issues under English law.
Justice Laffoy said the court had no evidence on which to assess whether the claim was time-barred under English law, or whether set-off would be available. Determining those questions in Ireland would require evidence and submissions on English law. The court therefore considered it better to leave them for the English proceedings rather than require proof of foreign law at this permission stage. The judgment also said the proposed claim for unliquidated damages and equitable relief could not be resolved through IBRC’s special liquidation.
Applying a “right and fair in the circumstances” test, the court granted consent to commence proceedings on the basis of the proposed Claim Form. The order does not determine whether the allegations are true, whether the claim is time-barred, or whether any set-off is available.