The Court of Appeal has set aside a High Court summary judgment of €363,445.52 against Anita Corrigan in favour of KBC Bank Ireland plc, remitting the case so the bank can apply to amend its claim following a Supreme Court ruling on the detail required in summary proceedings.
The appeal court’s January 2021 order does not dismiss the bank’s proceedings or determine whether the debt is ultimately payable. The High Court must consider the bank’s proposed amendment application. If the bank succeeds, Corrigan may file an affidavit setting out any defences she wishes to advance. The court also permitted her to file affidavits in response to procedural or substantive applications.
The bank’s claim arose from a joint €333,000 loan facility made to Corrigan and her estranged husband in 2007 to acquire a property in County Wexford. The couple signed the facility documents and granted the bank a mortgage over the property. The bank later sought summary judgment, saying €363,445.52 was due. In July 2019, the High Court granted judgment for that amount.
Corrigan argued on appeal that the case should be sent for a full hearing and raised concerns about the handling of evidence and an allegation that her husband had influenced her to sign. The Court of Appeal found no evidential basis before the High Court to establish undue influence. It noted that the loan was advanced jointly, Corrigan had legal advice during the transaction, and she and her husband were registered as joint owners of the property. The appeal court also said she had not appealed or sought to vary the earlier direction preventing her from filing further affidavits, and had not applied to file a further affidavit before the judgment hearing.
The basis for setting aside the judgment was the bank’s concession that the case should be remitted in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Bank of Ireland Mortgage Bank v O’Malley. That ruling recalibrated the standard for particulars in a summary summons. The appeal court said the bank should be allowed to seek an amendment, while rejecting Corrigan’s request to have the proceedings struck out or to require a full hearing at this stage.
The Court of Appeal proposed no order as to costs up to 1 September 2020 and vacated the High Court costs order. It proposed that Corrigan pay half the bank’s costs incurred from that date. The parties were given an opportunity to make written submissions on the costs proposal; if neither did so within the stated time, the proposed order would issue.