The High Court has ordered Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Limited to disclose specified categories of documents sought by the first defendant in proceedings over a claimed debt of €9,890,619.65, plus interest. The order decides a discovery application; it does not determine whether the debt is owed or resolve the parties’ disputed claims.
The bank says the sum is due under two August 2008 loan facilities and guarantees relating to Atlantis Developments Limited and Liscannor Properties Limited. The first defendant denies liability. Among his pleaded defences are that the August 2008 facility letters were illegal, that the bank agreed to rely only on secured assets, and that it would not seek performance of certain facilities until the Park & Ride project was operational. The bank disputes those claims. The judgment says the court did not have the full facts or some of the documents before it at this stage.
The case was admitted to the Commercial List in May 2010. In July 2010, the claims against all three defendants were sent from the summary judgment process to a plenary hearing. The first defendant’s discovery application listed 53 categories. The bank had agreed to some disclosure, subject to modifications. The judge considered the application under the rules requiring documents to be relevant to the pleaded issues and necessary for fair disposal of the case or saving costs.
The court ordered disclosure of specified regulatory records relating to the accounts, including reports, communications with the Financial Regulator and Central Bank, and records of meetings about treatment under Basel regulations. It excluded requests for communications with the Financial Ombudsman and European financial institutions, and refused a broader request for bank-wide records about impaired accounts as insufficiently tied to the pleaded issues.
Other categories allowed include loan and credit committee records, facility letters and guarantees; selected records concerning dealings about the Park & Ride project and the facilities; and documents relating to the Cliffs of Moher scheme, Doolin, the guarantee and VAT facilities, the Quin Facility and the Jaguar Fund. The judge narrowed or refused other requests, including records prepared for transfer of assets to the National Asset Management Agency, which she considered of marginal relevance and unnecessary for fair disposal.
The order requires discovery in the categories set out in the judgment’s schedule. The judge said she would hear the parties on the time for discovery and obtain the name of the bank’s deponent. The judgment does not set a final discovery deadline or decide the underlying dispute.