The High Court has given Allied Irish Banks plc liberty to enter final judgment against three defendants over guarantees linked to a loan to Unit 5 (Rosemount) Limited. The court found their affidavits did not disclose an arguable defence at this stage.
Mr Justice Hunt’s judgment, delivered on 3 October 2016, concerned the bank’s application for summary judgment. AIB claimed €1 million plus interest from each defendant under written guarantees dated 10 February 2011, relating to an advance to the borrower on 7 February 2011. The judge applied the test of whether the defendants had an arguable defence or an issue requiring trial.
Adrian Meade argued, among other matters, that personal difficulties affected his ability to evaluate the guarantees, that he had not been advised to seek independent legal advice, and that he understood liability would be shared among the defendants in proportion to their shareholdings. The judge found those assertions insufficiently supported to meet the threshold for leave to defend. He also said the bank had advised Meade in the guarantee documents to obtain independent legal advice.
Ivor Miller challenged the borrower’s approval of the loan arrangements, the evidence of the amount due and the bank representative’s authority. The judge was satisfied that the representative could give evidence on the bank’s behalf and that the borrower owed more than the amount sought under the guarantees. He found the borrower’s receipt and use of the loan, and provisions in its articles of association, answered the argument that a formal board resolution had not been produced.
Alan Campbell said a bank official had urgently obtained his signature by misrepresenting the guarantee as administrative paperwork that would not be used. The bank official disputed his account and said copies of the guarantee had been sent to him beforehand with advice to seek legal advice. The judge said he could not resolve every detail of the dispute over where and when the guarantee was signed, but found Campbell’s account had been undermined and did not establish a reasonable probability of a defence.
The court concluded that the issues raised were simple and readily determined and that the affidavits disclosed no arguable defence. It granted AIB liberty to enter final judgment against each defendant. The judgment records that procedural permission; it does not itself state that final judgments were entered.