The High Court has ruled that Allied Irish Banks plc cannot recover summary judgment on the particulars pleaded so far in its claim against Oliver Dorey for €809,531.10. The court did not dismiss the action or decide whether the debt is owed. It left other issues in the motion open and listed the matter for mention on 18 July 2022.
The bank’s claim arises from three loans made in 2008. Its summary summons said that full particulars of the alleged indebtedness had previously been notified through account statements delivered from time to time. The judgment records that the summons was dated 18 March 2020 and that the defendant was called but did not appear when the motion was part-heard on 23 May 2022.
The issue before Mr Justice Holland was whether that reference to statements sent during the life of the loans satisfied the Supreme Court’s requirements in Bank of Ireland Mortgage Bank v O’Malley for particulars in a summary summons. The bank asked the judge to decide that issue separately, on the assumption that it had to prove the underlying debt, while reserving its position on whether such proof was required in a default motion. Other issues in the motion were adjourned pending the ruling.
The judge considered conflicting High Court decisions. He preferred the approach in Havbell v Harris, under which a general reference to statements supplied regularly was not enough to identify documents providing the required particulars. He held that incorporating by reference statements delivered over the 12 years of the loans did not meet O’Malley’s pleading requirements.
The judgment distinguished the requirement to plead the debt’s calculation from the separate requirement to prove it with evidence. Although statements were exhibited with the bank’s motion papers, their availability at that stage did not cure the pleading defect. The judge said the bank could provide a complete set of statements before issuing proceedings and refer to those documents in the summons.
The ruling is limited to the particulars pleaded to date: the bank cannot recover summary judgment on that basis. The judge expressly said the finding does not necessarily mean the action will be dismissed or prevent the bank from taking further steps that could ultimately lead to summary judgment.