The High Court dismissed Richard Rooney’s appeal against a Circuit Court order granting Pepper Finance Corporation (Ireland) Designated Activity Company possession of a home at Barley Field, Rolestown, Swords, County Dublin. The appeal was heard by Mr Justice Robert Eagar on 15 July 2019.
The Circuit Court had made the possession order on 12 November 2018 and stayed its execution until 12 April 2019. Rooney sought an adjournment, referring to two appeals against Pepper then before the Supreme Court. He could not identify the issues to be debated in those cases, and Pepper’s counsel said the judgments had not yet been adopted by the Supreme Court. The High Court refused the adjournment and heard the appeal.
The judgment recounts evidence filed by Pepper that the property was the couple’s family home and principal private residence, and that a mortgage had been executed on 5 September 2007. Pepper said it advanced €645,000, that the borrowers defaulted in November 2009, and that arrears stood at €286,892.56 on 12 August 2016. It also said it demanded repayment in January 2015 and sought vacant possession the following month. These are matters set out in affidavits described by the court.
Rooney argued that Pepper was not entitled to enforce the mortgage, disputing the effect of changes in company ownership and the transfer of the mortgage book. In response, Pepper said it had retained the legal right to enforce the mortgage after selling the beneficial interest in the loan and security to Windmill Funding Ltd. The court adopted an earlier High Court judgment in Pepper Finance Corporation (Ireland) DAC v Hanlon, which had addressed the distinction between legal and beneficial interests and found that Pepper retained legal title and the right to enforce.
Rooney also raised a question about service on people over 18 who might be in occupation. The judge said there was no evidence of any occupiers other than Rooney and Linda Rooney, and no evidence suggesting anyone else was in possession beyond those served.
The High Court concluded there were no grounds on which Rooney could succeed and dismissed his appeal. The judgment dismissed the appeal; it did not set out a new possession order or a fresh stay.