The High Court has struck out David Langan’s proceedings against the Property Registration Authority of Ireland and the purchasers of a Dublin property, finding the claims were bound to fail. It also ordered the removal of a lis pendens registered against the property because Langan had unreasonably delayed prosecuting the case.
The judgment, delivered by Ms Justice Eileen Roberts on 21 April 2023, followed two motions heard together on 10 March. The Authority sought to have the case against it struck out. The purchasers, Thomas and Kim Langan, sought to have the lis pendens vacated and the proceedings against them struck out. The judge said the purchasers are married to each other but are not related to the plaintiff.
The property had been registered in David Langan’s name in 2006 and secured by a mortgage. After he defaulted on the loan, a receiver was appointed in 2016. The purchasers bought the property at public auction on 24 October 2018; the sale was completed in April 2019. In separate proceedings, the High Court had found the receiver’s appointment valid. The judge stressed that the earlier judgment did not expressly validate the sale to the purchasers.
Langan claimed he remained the beneficial and full owner and challenged the sale as unlawful and fraudulent. He argued, among other things, that a court order for possession and a documented chain of title through the receiver were necessary. The judge found those arguments mistaken in law: a receiver does not take ownership of the property, and a court order for possession was not essential to the sale in these circumstances. She also referred to statutory protections for purchasers buying under a mortgagee’s power of sale.
The judge found no stateable claim against the Authority, which had registered the lis pendens and had not registered the purchasers as owners. The pleaded fraud allegation against it was general and unsupported by particulars. She ruled that the Authority was not a necessary party and struck out the proceedings against it.
The lis pendens had been registered in July 2019. The purchasers were not served until July 2020, and the statement of claim was delivered in September 2021. The judge found those delays unreasonable under section 123 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 and ordered the lis pendens vacated. She did not decide whether the case was also being pursued in bad faith.
The proceedings against the purchasers were dismissed under Order 19, rule 28 of the Rules of the Superior Courts and the court’s inherent jurisdiction, as bound to fail. The judge said any issue with the exercise of the power of sale would give rise to a possible damages remedy against the receiver or mortgagee, rather than a claim against the purchasers. She refused the purchasers’ request for an Isaac Wunder order, finding insufficient evidence. The matter was listed for mention on 5 May 2023 to address the final form of order, costs and other issues.