The High Court has made orders charging the interests of three brothers in their homes against a judgment debt of €19,947,202.85 owed to Ulster Bank Ireland DAC. It also ordered the sale of Brian McDonagh’s property, while adjourning the bank’s sale-related applications against Maurice and Kenneth McDonagh with liberty to re-enter.
Mr Justice Mark Sanfey delivered the judgment on 14 March 2023, dealing together with three special-summons proceedings. The bank sought enforcement of judgment mortgages registered over the defendants’ interests in their respective properties. The underlying judgment was granted by the High Court in 2020 and affirmed by the Court of Appeal in 2022. The judgment debt had been reduced by €3 million following the sale of an underlying security.
The defendants opposed the applications and sought to cross-examine the bank’s senior manager, Ted Mahon, about the bank’s valuation of the properties and its non-disclosure of a profit participation agreement connected to the sale of land at Kilpedder, County Wicklow. The judge refused cross-examination, finding there was no disputed factual issue that needed to be resolved for the applications. He said the defendants had provided no valuation evidence or evidence of their financial circumstances, and that a creditor did not have to account for every possible source of debt recovery before enforcing its security.
The court made a well-charging order over each brother’s interest in the property listed in the relevant summons. For Brian McDonagh, the court also ordered sale under section 117 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009. It directed an account and inquiry into other encumbrances and their priorities, as well as an inquiry into people with interests in the property and their respective shares. The judge said any person claiming an interest could have that claim considered through the inquiry. He scheduled a further hearing on ancillary matters, including whether the sale order should be stayed and for how long.
The bank had agreed not to pursue sale orders against the properties co-owned by Maurice and Kenneth McDonagh “at this juncture”. The court adjourned the other reliefs sought in those proceedings generally, with liberty to re-enter. If the bank later seeks sale orders, it must apply to join the respective co-owners, Angela and Fiona McDonagh, as co-defendants.
The judge also refused Yeoksee Ooi’s late application to file an affidavit and participate in the proceedings concerning Brian McDonagh. The judgment records that the court would make no further submissions on the substantive orders at the scheduled ancillary hearing.