Anglo Irish secure Morrogh settlement

The High Court has approved the payment of €450,000 to Anglo Irish Bank in settlement of its claim in proceedings arising from the collapse of the Cork stockbroking firm, W and R Morrogh.

The settlement was reached between Mr Tom Grace, receiver of W and R Morrogh, and the Bank after Anglo lodged an appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Court's refusal of the bank's claim.

The order approving payment was made by Ms Justice Laffoy yesterday on the application of Mr Seamus Noonan, for Mr Tom Grace, receiver of the stockbroking firm. The payment is in settlement of the claim of Anglo Irish Bank Limited and Anglo Irish Bank Nominees Limited in proceedings against Mr Stephen Pearson of W and R Morrogh and against Mr Grace as receiver.

In an affidavit, Mr Grace said he accepted that, at all material times, Anglo had a valid charge over some 40,000 London Stock Exchange plc shares, originally owned by Mr Pearson, which shares were security for Mr Pearson's borrowings from the bank.

At earlier court proceedings, lawyers for Mr Pearson had indicated that Mr Pearson did not intend to contest the matter and would abide by any order made by the court, Mr Grace added. Lawyers for Mr Pearson had also indicated in recent correspondence that Mr Pearson was not proposing to make any claim on the LSE shares.

The €450,000 claim was a claim by Anglo to the proceeds of the sale of the shares in LSE which proceeds were lodged to the client account of W and R Morrogh in April 2001.

The Anglo claim was heard before Mr Justice Murphy in the High Court and he ultimately refused the application. The bank had appealed that refusal to the Supreme Court but yesterday's order means that appeal has been settled.

W and R Morrogh collapsed in April 2001 with liabilities of some € 12 million. Proposals for the distribution of the estimated €6.2 million assets of the failed firm were submitted to the High Court last year, based on the findings of the High Court in earlier hearings as to how those assets should be distributed.

Some 2,500 claims for a share of those assets were received by Mr Grace, the High Court was told.