The Supreme Court has dismissed Liam Madden’s appeal against a High Court judgment ordering him to pay Anglo Irish Bank Corporation plc €845,786.25, plus costs. The court affirmed the order, which arose from the bank’s claim under a guarantee and indemnity connected to a loan to Edenfell Holdings Limited.
The judgment, delivered by Denham J. on 17 December 2004, concerned the High Court’s decision of 23 July 2003 to grant summary judgment. The Supreme Court’s task was to decide Madden’s appeal from that order; it did not conduct a plenary trial of the underlying allegations.
The bank’s motion sought judgment against the defendants under deeds of guarantee and indemnity dated 10 September 1992. The bank’s evidence was that the deeds secured a loan to Edenfell for its purchase of land from Denis and Margaret O’Brien. After Edenfell defaulted, the lands were sold to Astra Construction Limited following earlier court proceedings. The receiver calculated a final deficiency of £507,768.58 in December 1998. The bank later sought payment from the defendants and stated that the total due, with interest, was £568,719.55 as of 19 February 2001.
Madden alleged, among other things, fraud, misrepresentation, abuse of process and a lack of independent legal advice. He also argued that the cases had been improperly joined, that no valid charge existed, and that his pleadings did not reflect his instructions. These were his submissions, not findings that the Supreme Court accepted.
The court rejected the joinder argument, finding that the actions had been heard consecutively rather than joined. It said that any issue with land registry compliance would affect the debt’s priority, not its underlying enforceability, and noted that the issue had not been pleaded. On legal advice, the court found that Madden had the opportunity to obtain independent advice and had not acted promptly to set aside the indemnity. It also said that any fresh proceedings would be statute barred.
The court concluded that the indemnity created a stand-alone obligation, so alleged flaws in the underlying loan did not defeat the bank’s claim against Madden. It also held that he could not pursue a claim belonging to Edenfell. The court therefore affirmed the High Court order and dismissed the appeal.