Permanent TSB shareholders fail to secure injunction

The High Court has ruled that a director of Permanent TSB's holding company is not entitled to an injunction that would prevent him from having to step down from his position.

Piotr Skoczylas and several other shareholders sought an injunction preventing the other directors of Permanent TSB Group Holdings plc and the Minister for Finance from terminating Mr Skoczylas's directorship of the holding company, which has 100 per cent of the shares of Irish Life and Permanent – the bank.

Mr Skoczylas, who under company rules must retire as a director at its annual general meeting in May, and the other shareholders of the company wanted the injunction in place until their main case has been determined.

In those proceedings, the shareholders have made a number of allegations including that the holding companies’ directors breached EU law and acted in an oppressive manner towards the holding company’s shareholders during the sale of the bank’s life assurance wing – Irish Life – to the Minister for Finance in 2012.

The other directors and the Minister deny the claims and had opposed the granting of the injunction.

Mr Justice Paul Gilligan refused yesterday to grant the injunction, which he held was misconceived. He did not find that there was a serious issue to be tried in relation to Mr Skoczylas's directorship.

The court heard that under companies rules, or articles of association, directors of PTSB Group Holdings must retire by rotation. At the company’s agm, at least one third of the directors must retire, starting with with the longest-serving.

Mr Skoczylas, who was elected by shareholders to the board in July 2011, is the longest serving director.

His appointment was confirmed in April 2012, while the other directors were all confirmed as directors the following May.

Directors who retire are not precluded from standing for re-election.