Court sets date for Drumm case

The Commercial Court has fixed a date for the hearing of legal actions by Anglo Irish Bank against its former chief executive David Drumm.

The bank is pursuing Mr Drumm over €8.3 million unpaid loans and seeking to set aside the transfer of the family home to his wife.

The proceedings, which get underway on October 26th, are expected to run for two weeks.

In the action over the January 2008 loans, Mr Drumm, who resigned as chief executive in December 2008, claims Anglo’s demand for immediate repayment is premature and in breach of loan agreements.

He is also counter-claiming his employment was not validly terminated in early 2009 and that the bank owes him some €2,620,695.

That figure is made up of notice equal to 12 months salary of €1.2 million, 12 months pension payments of €715,224, 12 months benefits of €44,471 and a deferred 2006 bonus worth €661,000. He is also seeking damages, including for mental distress arising from breach of privacy and the bank’s failure to properly protect his confidential information.

In sworn replies to questions from Mr Drumm in the case, Anglo chief executive Mike Aynsley has confirmed substantial deferred bonus payments were made to a large number of other Anglo officials and employees over the past decade.

Mr Aynsley confirmed bonuses in excess of a year’s salary were paid to certain officials on termination of their employment.

After the case against Mr Drumm over the loans concludes, the court will immediately afterwards hear the bank’s action against Mr Drumm and his wife Lorraine aimed at setting aside Mr Drumm’s transfer of the family home at Abbington, Malahide, Co Dublin, to his wife.

Now living at Stage Neck Road, Cape Cod in the US, Mr Drumm has claimed he and his wife have given undertakings relating to their former family home. Anglo claims the transfer of that property into Mrs Drumm’s name is a fraud on creditors but the couple claim the transfer was for “taxation reasons”.

Both cases were before Mr Justice Peter Kelly for case management purposes today and he was told by Paul Sreenan SC, for Anglo, that discovery of documents had been made.

Those documents were to include all material relating to contact and negotiations between Mr Drumm and the bank between December 1st, 2008 and July 2009 related to repayment of Mr Drumm’s loans, including contacts with Donal O’Connor and Declan Quilligan of Anglo.

Mr Sreenan also noted Anglo had provided sworn answers to interrogatories (questions) received from Mr Drumm’s side. Counsel said there were a number of outstanding issues, including concerning interrogatories but the sides had agreed dates for the various matters to be dealt with and also for the exchange of witness statements and submissions.

In those circumstances, Mr Justice Kelly said the matter was ready for trial and he fixed October 26th as the date of trial. He also fixed dates prior to that for the bringing of motions arising from interrogatories and for the receipt of witness statements and legal submissions from both sides.