Court decision may result in sale of home

The Co Kildare farmer who lost his Supreme Court appeal against the Bank of Ireland said yesterday he is "horrified and devastated" by the decision in the case.

Mr James Behan (54), of Dollardstown House, Athy, Co Kildare, said he is "left with nothing" following the decision and may have to sell his home and the remaining 20 acres of his farm. While his two sons are grown up, he still supports his wife and their mentally retarded daughter, he said.

"I'm outraged that I didn't get damages, but there's no more that I can do. I feel I have suffered a great injustice," Mr Behan said. "The Supreme Court is the end of the line."

The unemployed farmer initiated legal proceedings against the bank in 1989. He said he had a number of grievances but some of them had been statute barred. He went ahead with his claim for £1 million in damages for what he alleged was bad advice from the bank.

Another aspect of the case concerned the bank's use of a Government scheme to provide relief to farmers suffering from high interest payments on loans. Last year the High Court ordered the bank to pay £21,000 to Mr Behan arising from its having drawn down £18,455 in 1985 from the scheme, the Reduced Interest Scheme for Farmers in Severe Financial Distress. The bank used the money to reduce Mr Behan's indebtedness.

In the High Court Mr Behan had complained about how the bank had delayed before it permitted him to take part in the scheme. Mr Justice Morris said he was satisfied the bank was attempting to achieve benefits for itself by depriving or withholding Mr Behan's entry into the scheme.

Mr Behan applied for inclusion in the scheme in 1982. In 1985 the bank drew down £18,445, even though by then Mr Behan had already agreed to pay, and the bank had accepted, a £165,000 full and final settlement of his £214,000 indebtedness to it. Mr Justice Morris said it was clear that having made the agreement to accept the reduced settlement, the bank was not entitled to apply the £18,455 in the manner which it did.

"If the bank had given the money to me at the time, I might not have lost my business," Mr Behan said yesterday.

Between 1985 and 1987, 240 acres were sold in three lots for prices of around £1,300 an acre in order to pay off his debts. This was despite the fact that by the end of 1983, Mr Behan said, he had turned his business around, from a loss of £40,000 to a profit of £18,000. "I had developed a crop that brought me back into profit but the profit was not enough to meet my commitments to the bank."

Mr Behan inherited his farm from his parents in the late 1970s and was involved in beef, wheat and pea production. He is now unemployed, though he has recently passed his first year accountancy exams. "That's not bad at my age. I'm pleased about that," he said.