The High Court has refused Allied Irish Bank plc’s application for summary judgment against Cathal O’Donovan and Patrick Crowley over an alleged €216,395.63 overdraft debt, and adjourned the bank’s claim to a plenary hearing.
In a judgment delivered on 27 July 2017, Mr Justice Eagar accepted that current account 00972035 was overdrawn by €216,395.63. He also found that the bank had not demonstrated the original loan agreement or documents setting out the detailed terms and conditions of the loan. The court noted that the original mandate relied on by the bank could not be found and that the copy did not identify the account.
The bank sought final judgment for the claimed sum, plus interest under the contract. Its evidence was that the defendants maintained the account jointly, that the debt was due on demand, and that demands for payment had not been met. The bank said the mandate, signed in 2005, converted the account into a joint and several account.
Crowley disputed that he had held or operated the account. He said it had originally been opened in O’Donovan’s sole name and argued that the bank had not produced the underlying terms or adequately explained how the balance arose. He also challenged whether the copy mandate related to this account, noting that it had no account number and that the original could not be located.
Crowley raised other matters in his affidavits, including the effect of alleged fraud by a former employee at the solicitors’ firm, his health and the firm’s closure, and a separate claimed loss from an investment in a geared property fund. These were his assertions and were not findings made by the court in this judgment.
The court’s decision was limited to the summary judgment application. It refused to enter final judgment and adjourned the bank’s claim for plenary hearing; it did not determine the ultimate liability of either defendant.