The High Court granted Allied Irish Banks plc summary judgment for €154,183.28 against Paul Briscoe and Aisling Downey in proceedings over a loan account. Mr Justice Robert Eagar ruled on 28 July 2017 that summary procedure was suitable and that the defendants had not shown a fair or reasonable probability of a real or bona fide defence.
The proceedings began with a summary summons seeking repayment of money lent and interest. The amount initially claimed was €157,003.28; the bank said €2,820 had been repaid, leaving €154,183.28. The court granted judgment for that remaining sum but ordered that no interest be paid. It also awarded the bank the costs of its application.
The bank relied on a loan offer dated 16 February 2010, which the judgment says was signed by both defendants. Its evidence was that the account was governed by that offer and that the debt was secured by a mortgage over 1 Orchard Villas, Termonfeckin, a buy-to-let property where the defendants did not live. The court said no other properties were relied on as security for this loan.
The defendants raised concerns about how their borrowing had been arranged, the use of property as security, the accounts associated with the bank, and the disclosure of account information and original documents. Mr Briscoe said the dealings with the bank had been informal and that he had not been made aware of independent legal advice. Ms Downey said she had not had a business loan or acted as guarantor for one. The bank’s evidence referred to a written guarantee signed by both defendants and a 2008 mortgage over the property. The court considered the loan offer and account at issue, and said the defendants’ other account-related materials did not concern that account.
Earlier applications by the defendants for an adjournment and negotiations, and later for disclosure, had been refused by other High Court judges. In this judgment, Mr Justice Eagar applied the summary judgment test, including whether there was a fair or reasonable probability of a bona fide defence. He said the issues concerning the particular loan account were easily determinable and that there were no real issues of fact about it.
The ruling determined the bank’s application for summary judgment. It did not award interest on the debt.