The High Court ordered Jack F. McCarthy III to provide security for costs in his action against the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and seven other defendants, including Limerick District Council and Munster Football Club Limited. The ruling was delivered by Mr Justice Michael White on 14 October 2014.
The application was brought by the first five defendants: the FAI, John Delaney, Rory Smyth, Padraig Smith and Noel Mooney. They had not yet filed a defence. An affidavit from the FAI’s legal director said the claim against them, alleging fraudulent inducement to enter a contract to purchase Limerick FC, was without merit and that a full defence would be filed.
The plaintiff opposed the application. He said he had no liquid assets and that the defendants’ alleged wrongful actions had left him unable to provide security. He denied that the proceedings were frivolous and said he was not insolvent. He also relied on his Irish citizenship and ties to the jurisdiction. The court said citizenship was irrelevant to the application, which turned on his ordinary residence and place of business.
The judgment records that McCarthy lived and worked in New Jersey, outside the European Union. His summons listed 8 Herbert Place, Dublin 2, but he accepted that the property was held by Herbert Place LLC, a New Jersey company, rather than owned personally. He told the court he had a controlling interest in the company. The court noted that the defendants would be unable to enforce a costs order against the property if they successfully defended the action, because it was owned by the company.
The court was satisfied that the five defendants had a prima facie defence on the merits and that the plaintiff had no assets in his own name in Ireland. It found he had not shown that his inability to provide security resulted from wrongdoing by those defendants, and found no special circumstances warranting refusal. In light of the dispute, the court granted the application for security for costs.
The judgment did not set out a cash amount or specify a deadline for providing security. It said the court was amenable to an appropriate charge or arrangement involving 8 Herbert Place as an alternative to a cash lodgement.