The Supreme Court dismissed appeals by five applicants challenging case management directions for their High Court challenge to a ministerial order concerning the sale of Irish Life & Permanent plc’s life assurance business. It recorded consent to adjust the timetable for evidence and submissions, while leaving the 12 June 2012 hearing date in place.
In a judgment delivered on 24 May 2012, Mr Justice Clarke addressed appeals concerning directions made by High Court President Kearns on 8 May. Those directions had set deadlines for affidavits and legal submissions and fixed the hearing of the applicants’ motions for 12 June. The appeals did not challenge that hearing date.
The underlying proceedings seek to set aside a direction order made on the Minister for Finance’s application under the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act 2010. The proposed transaction was for the Minister to buy the company’s life assurance business for €1.3 billion. The Minister said the measure was needed to meet regulatory requirements and the State’s obligations to the “troika”. The Supreme Court was not deciding the merits of the challenge to the direction order.
The applicants argued that the timetable was unfair and sought, among other things, a preliminary hearing on urgency, linkage with separate proceedings about a July 2011 direction, notice to the Attorney General and Human Rights Commission, and orders relating to discovery and interrogatories.
The Court said urgency was relevant to case management, not a separate issue for preliminary trial. Because the applicants had not appealed the 12 June hearing date, and the timetable had been adjusted by agreement as far as possible while retaining that date, the Court declined to order a hearing on urgency. It said the trial judge could still address any material prejudice shown to have resulted from the timetable.
The Court also declined to link these proceedings with the separate case about the July 2011 direction, finding no sufficient basis to interfere with the High Court’s discretion. It said constitutional and European Convention issues had not been brought into the proceedings as claims, so there was no basis for ordering notice to the Attorney General or the Commission. The Court made no discovery order, noting that the applicants had not started the prescribed process, and said it could not determine whether interrogatories were appropriate on the record then available.
The Minister and Irish Life & Permanent agreed to allow further affidavit evidence by 7 June and to exchange written submissions that day. The appeals were dismissed, subject to the agreed timetable variation. The Court left the trial judge’s discretion to address any demonstrated prejudice intact.