The High Court struck out Timothy Joseph Daire’s claim against The Wise Finance Company Limited and Ronald Weisz, ruling that it sought to reopen issues already decided in earlier proceedings. The court also barred further proceedings against the company or Mr Weisz without High Court leave and ordered the removal of lis pendens notices affecting specified Roscommon lands.
The judgment, delivered by Ms Justice Laffoy on 11 July 2013, concerned two applications brought by the company and Mr Weisz. They asked the court to dismiss or strike out Mr Daire’s claim and to vacate the lis pendens registered against the lands. Mr Daire had sought, among other reliefs, to have loan agreements declared unenforceable, to overturn a 2006 High Court order, and to be declared the beneficial owner of registered and unregistered lands in County Roscommon.
The earlier proceedings began in 2004, when the company sought possession of some of the lands and well charging orders over others. In 2006, the High Court made possession and security orders. The Supreme Court appeal was recorded as withdrawn in 2012; it amended the principal and interest amounts in the High Court order and affirmed that order as amended.
In the 2013 applications, Mr Daire argued that the claim was not an attempt to reopen the earlier case and that the company faced legal impediments to enforcing the orders. Justice Laffoy considered the material filed in the earlier proceedings and Mr Daire’s affidavit. She concluded that no new relevant issue had been raised that could undo or prevent enforcement of the earlier orders. She found that the matters concerning the company’s entitlement to possession or security had been finally determined and were res judicata. The court held that the new claim would inevitably fail and amounted to an abuse of process.
The court made an order restricting further proceedings against the company and Mr Weisz unless Mr Daire first obtained High Court leave. The judgment specified that this restriction does not prevent proceedings that are not an abuse of process. Under section 123 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009, the court also ordered the lis pendens vacated from the identified folios and unregistered lands.
The orders applied only to the claim against the company and Mr Weisz. The proceedings against Arthur Gunning were left pending and unaffected. The court did not determine that claim in this judgment.