The High Court has rejected Mars Capital Ireland Ltd.’s appeal for a single order substituting it as plaintiff in 576 Circuit Court proceedings, including a case against Conor and Cecily Kennedy. Mr Justice McDermott held that the cases should proceed individually in their proper local jurisdictions.
The appeal followed a Circuit Court decision on 3 September 2015 refusing an application made without notice to replace Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Ltd. (IBRC) with Mars Capital in the Kennedy case and similar proceedings. The original application covered 583 cases. After errors were identified and the schedule revised, Mars sought substitution in 576.
IBRC had acquired Irish Nationwide Building Society’s assets and liabilities, including mortgage loans, under a 2011 transfer order. It later changed its name. Under a loan sale deed dated 31 March 2014, IBRC agreed to sell assets to Mars. The judgment records that deeds transferring the relevant interests were completed on 6 June 2014 and that the Kennedys were notified by letter on 10 June.
Mars argued that the evidence showed, on a prima facie basis, that IBRC had assigned its rights and that a single order would save costs and administrative resources. The High Court accepted that the evidence was sufficient for the procedural question of whether substitution could be justified on that basis. It did not determine whether the sale or assignments were substantively valid, or whether Mars was entitled to succeed in any underlying case. Those issues remained open for trial.
The court said the application’s scale and geographic spread weighed against an omnibus order. The 576 proceedings involved 26 Circuit Court offices. The revised schedule followed discovery that record numbers, discontinued cases and circuit areas had been listed incorrectly. The court considered that a single order could add work and confusion to local court administration, while defendants would have to deal with enquiries and case-specific orders.
The court also noted that the proceedings included property-possession cases, potentially involving family homes, businesses or rental properties. Although notice to defendants was not required by the rules, the judge said it might be a more satisfactory and efficient way to advance the cases.
Mr Justice McDermott agreed with the Circuit Court president and dismissed the appeal. Mars must pursue the proceedings through the ordinary process in the relevant Circuit Court jurisdictions. The judgment did not prevent Mars from seeking substitution in individual cases or resolve the underlying claims.