The High Court has refused Allied Irish Banks plc’s application to overturn an adjournment in its summary judgment proceedings against Gerard Black, finding that the bank’s appeal was based on an inaccurate account of what the Master had decided.
AIB’s motion described the Master’s decision on 7 February 2019 as a refusal to transfer the bank’s summary judgment motion to the Judges’ List. Mr Justice Max Barrett said the Master had not refused the transfer. Instead, after Mr Black’s counsel sought a preliminary reference to the European Court of Justice under Article 267 TFEU, the Master adjourned the matter until 7 March to allow AIB to make submissions on that application.
AIB’s counsel had argued that the Master lacked competence to decide whether he could make a preliminary reference. The Master proceeded on the basis that he could determine the question and adjourned the proceedings. The bank’s counsel twice declined invitations to address him on that issue.
The court considered the rule requiring a contested case to be transferred to the court list when it is ready for hearing, while allowing the Master to give directions and adjourn the case. Mr Justice Barrett found no breach of that rule or other legal error in the adjournment. He said the Master had jurisdiction to determine his own jurisdiction, including whether he was entitled to make a preliminary reference. The Master could be right or wrong in his eventual conclusion, and AIB could seek judicial review if it considered that conclusion wrong.
The judge noted that the proceedings had been adjourned previously for various reasons, including by consent, Mr Black’s illness and his wish to engage with AIB. He said the court saw no unlawful pattern of adjournments in the circumstances. The Master’s decision on the reference issue had been postponed pending the appeal and, according to the judgment, was expected on 9 May.
The High Court refused the reliefs sought. It did not decide the underlying summary judgment motion or whether the Master could ultimately make the requested European reference.