Property cases dominate the day in the commercial court

IN THE COURTS:PROPERTY DEVELOPERS held centre stage in the proceedings in the Commercial Court yesterday.

Noel Smyth’s Redfern Ltd versus Larry O’Mahony, Thomas McFeely, Liam Carroll, Tafica Ltd and Afica Ltd, which involves a complex dispute centred around the Square in Tallaght, came up for mention.

The trial is due to begin shortly. The court heard that there was no guarantee that witnesses including Mark Duffy, former chief executive of Bank of Scotland (Ireland), solicitor Ivor Fitzpatrick and others, would co-operate with a request that short versions of their witness statements would be supplied before the trial.

It may be that the attendance of the witnesses might have to be secured by way of subpoena, Mr Justice Kelly noted, and he couldn’t direct them to prepare statements. The case is to be heard by Mr Justice Brian McGovern.

There was a case involving AIG and solicitor Michael Lynn, with the insurance group wanting a policy it had with Lynn rendered void. “Any appearance by or on behalf of Michael Lynn?” asked Mr Justice Kelly. There was no reply.

“I suspect we will be looking for him for a long time to come,” remarked the judge. He sided with the AIG application but postponed any decision until another related case had been dealt with.

Just before lunch, Jim O’Callaghan SC came into the court to tell it of one case it would not have to hear.

Varleigh Ltd, a company associated with developer Bernard McNamara and public relations consultant James Morrissey, had brought the case, alleging they were wrongfully induced by IAWS, now Aryzta, and Ronan McNamee, founder of Cuisine de France, into entering a contract to buy the Uniphar Pharma site at Tallaght for approximately €52 million.

O’Callaghan said the matter had been resolved and the plaintiffs regretted any distress they had caused the defendants. There was no elaboration.

The above-mentioned O’Mahony and McFeely were also the defendants in a case where ACCBank was looking for its money back, €6.278 million. McFeely’s counsel said his client wanted to submit an affidavit, prompting Mr Justice Kelly to remark that the developer had a habit of bringing matters up to the wire and then seeking the indulgence of the court.

Nevertheless he granted a delay to allow McFeely to file an affidavit by Wednesday, so the matter could be heard on Friday.

He proceeded with the case against O’Mahony, who had sworn an affidavit on behalf of both men which, the judge ruled, did not contain an arguable defence against the claim being made by the bank. He gave summary judgement against O’Mahony for the entire amount.

He accepted into his court a move by receiver Martin Ferris to gain possession of a building, currently housing the Madison Bar, in Rathmines, Dublin.

Mr Ferris was appointed by Anglo Irish Bank to Castafield Investments Ltd and Leinster House (1974) Ltd. The court was told a lease on the building was signed in March by the pub operators, but it had not been brought to the court.

The court heard that at one stage the electricity supply was cut off from the pub, but was illegally reconnected. Mr Justice Kelly expressed concerns for the safety of the pub’s clientele.

It wasn’t all bad news.

In the afternoon, Paul Sreenan SC, for Covidien plc, got permission for a move that will result in the US healthcare multinational moving its holding company from Bermuda to Ireland.

The move was prompted by concerns about new tax measures to be introduced in the US. Under the scheme, the new holding company’s capital will be reduced by $13 billion to $3.8 billion.

The court heard how the multinational chose Ireland as it is “comfortable with the Irish business environment.”

Covidien has almost 2,000 Irish employees, making Ireland home to the third-highest number of Covidien employees out of the 59 countries in which it operates.

Ireland’s membership of the EU, use of the euro, long history of international investment and network of tax treaties were all attractions, as were the fact that it is an English-speaking country, a common law jurisdiction and has a stable business, legal and regulatory environment.