The High Court has ordered €246,000 to be paid to John Barrett from money held in court, to help fund his defence of two proceedings brought against him by Maurice Leahy and Leahy’s wife.
In a judgment delivered on 23 January 2018, Ms Justice Baker said Barrett had shown that he did not have sufficient means to fund the defence. The estimated costs of defending the two cases were €369,922. Leahy did not contest that estimate.
The money had been lodged in court by Leahy in July 2015, without admission of liability, after Barrett began execution steps on a judgment debt. Barrett had obtained final judgment in 2012 for €455,000, plus interest. The judgment remained unchallenged. The lodgement was made as security for the balance due and to avoid further execution steps.
Barrett applied for €246,000 to help meet the costs of the two cases, which were expected to take eight days at trial. He said his income consisted of small dividends, a small salary and pension income, and disclosed a one-third share in what appeared to be a residential property. No evidence or argument was put forward to show that his assets or income were sufficient to meet the anticipated costs.
Leahy opposed the application. He said Barrett’s limited means caused serious concern because they could leave insufficient funds to meet a future judgment if Leahy succeeded. He argued the money should remain in court because the claims in his proceedings exceeded the amount held there.
The judge held that Leahy, as a contingent creditor, had no entitlement to security for a judgment he had not yet obtained. She also found that the earlier 2015 ruling, which refused to discharge a judgment mortgage over Leahy’s land, had not decided whether money could now be released. That ruling had treated the funds as held pending a further application or order.
Ms Justice Baker said Barrett had the strongest claim to the funds, although he did not have an unconditional right to their immediate release. She found the proposed payment proportionate and reasonable, and in the interests of justice. The order released €246,000, approximately 60% of the money held in court and less than 70% of the anticipated defence costs.