A decade of judgments at the Commercial Court

SEÁN QUINN Bankrupt businessman Seán Quinn told the Commercial Court in February 2012 he was a “simple farmer’s son” who wanted to defend claims by Anglo Irish Bank that he was liable for up to €2.3 billion loans made to Quinn companies. The court ruled that as a bankrupt he could not defend and has entered a €2.2 billion judgment against him. Anglo wants an indemnity from Mr Quinn and two former Quinn Group executives should the Quinn family win their case denying liability for the €2.3 billion loans on grounds they were unlawfully made to prop up the bank’s share price.

SIR ANTHONY O’REILLY Former billionaire Sir Anthony O’Reilly consented to a judgment for €22.6 million last June and was refused a stay on entry and execution of that. The 78-year-old businessman has other borrowings of €195 million and had “ample” opportunity to pay his debts to Allied Irish Banks, Mr Justice Peter Kelly said. Sir Anthony wanted the stay to allow him control the sale of assets, including his 750-acre Castlemartin estate in Co Kildare with a graveyard where his parents and two grandchildren are buried.

DJ CAREY AND SARAH NEWMAN Hurling legend DJ Carey and his partner, businesswoman Sarah Newman, consented in May 2011 to judgment for more than €9 million each against them in favour of AIB over loans and guarantees of each other’s liabilities. The judgment against Mr Carey arose mainly from a 2007 mortgage loan advanced in the context of a wider deal to refinance existing debt due to Irish Nationwide Building Society and to release equity on properties held by him and Ms Newman.

RAY AND DANNY GREHAN The National Asset Management Agency moved in late 2011 against brothers Ray (above) and Danny Grehan, getting consent judgments for more than €300 million against each of them. It later got orders entitling it to move against their assets located outside Ireland. The judgments related mainly to the brothers’ guarantees of multi-million euro borrowings of their companies but also included personal borrowings of €27million for Ray and €22million for Danny.