The High Court has refused Colin Brennan’s appeal against an order granting KBC Bank Ireland plc possession of his home at Rosslough, Carrick Road, Dundalk, and held that the bank was entitled to possession.
Mr Justice MacGrath delivered the judgment on 25 February 2020. The appeal concerned an order made by the Circuit Court on 24 July 2018, which included a nine-month stay on execution. The High Court refused the appeal. The judgment does not state a new stay or specify when possession is to be executed.
The dispute arose from a €340,000 mortgage loan advanced in August 2008 and secured on the Dundalk property. The bank said the loan and security had transferred to it through a sequence of corporate changes and a banking-business transfer. Mr Brennan challenged the transfer and the bank’s entitlement to bring the case. The High Court found he had not established an arguable defence on that point.
Mr Brennan also argued that the Circuit Court lacked jurisdiction, that the loan contained unfair terms, that he could cancel the agreement, and that summary possession proceedings denied him a fair hearing. He raised concerns about the bank’s handling of mortgage arrears and discussions over repayment arrangements. These were his submissions; the court found they did not establish an arguable defence.
On the arrears process, the court considered letters sent in February and March 2014 warning Mr Brennan that he could be classified as not cooperating if he failed to provide specified financial information. The bank then told him he had been classified as not cooperating and that the protections of the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process no longer applied. Proceedings began on 31 July 2014. The judge found that the bank had complied with the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears.
The judge considered affidavits Mr Brennan had filed for the appeal, finding they largely provided additional information and legal grounds rather than substantial new evidence. A later bank affidavit with updated arrears figures was not admitted. The judge also found the property was Mr Brennan’s principal private residence and that the 1995 consumer-contract regulations did not provide an arguable defence in the circumstances. He concluded that no procedural unfairness had been established.
The judgment recorded the bank’s evidence that €367,994.26 was due as of 26 June 2019, including arrears of €92,868.30. Those figures were the bank’s stated account, not a separate award made in this appeal. The judge expressed sympathy for Mr Brennan but refused the appeal and confirmed the bank’s entitlement to the possession order.