The High Court has refused KBC Bank Ireland plc’s applications to strike out Student Marketing Network Limited’s claim and to require the company to provide security for KBC’s legal costs. The court reserved the costs of both applications. It did not decide whether KBC breached the contract; that dispute remains for further pleadings and trial.
The case concerns student marketing services that SMNL says it provided to KBC. SMNL alleges that KBC ended a three-year contract in or around April 2018 and engaged another provider. It says the parties agreed to reduced rates in return for a fixed-term, exclusive arrangement. KBC disputes that account and says the contractual terms included its general terms and conditions, which it argues undermine SMNL’s claim.
A central dispute is whether SMNL received those general terms and whether they formed part of the agreement. KBC relied on the written documents and emails, including an email attributed to SMNL’s chief executive in May 2018. The judge said whether that email was received and what it showed were matters for trial. The parties also disputed whether the agreement could be understood from the documents alone or whether oral representations and other evidence mattered.
The judge refused to strike out or dismiss the claim, finding that the factual dispute could not fairly be resolved on the applications without risking injustice to SMNL. The decision does not establish that SMNL’s allegations are true or determine the merits of its claim.
KBC also sought security for costs, arguing that SMNL could not meet a costs order if KBC successfully defended the action. For the purpose of this application only, SMNL did not contest that it could not meet the costs estimates or that KBC had a prima facie defence. It argued that KBC’s alleged breach had caused its financial difficulty.
Applying the prima facie threshold for this interlocutory application, the judge found that SMNL had shown an arguable connection between the alleged breach and its inability to pay costs. The judge relied on evidence from SMNL’s accountant, Myles Kirby, who estimated that continued KBC business could have generated about €230,000 in additional contribution over two years. KBC’s accountant, Jim Luby, disputed aspects of that analysis. The judge did not finally resolve the competing financial evidence or assess the claim’s prospects of success.
The court refused security for costs. It also refused KBC’s strike-out application and reserved costs on both motions. SMNL’s separate motion for judgment in default of defence remained adjourned.