Former Stardust owner fighting reposession of Clontarf home

A man who was a co-owner of the former Stardust Night Club in Dublin is attempting to stop the repossession of his home in Clontarf.

Barrister Shaula Connaughton-Deeny told the Circuit Civil Court she had been instructed by EBS Mortgage Finance Limited to seek possession of Colm Butterly’s family home at Seacourt, Clontarf.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane heard that Mr Butterly (70) had paid only €1,500 off his mortgage debt last year and just €1,000 in 2015.

Ms Connaughton-Deeny said Mr Butterly had borrowed €203,200 from EBS in December 1996 and had taken out a further loan of €240,000 in August 2008. Both loans had been secured on the property and the debt now due on both loans was over €160,000.

She told the court that this figure included arrears in excess of €80,000 which were increasing. Mr Butterly had told the bank he was out of work.

Mr Butterly, in an affidavit, said he had an arrangement to repay the debt at €1,012 a month and had done so up until August 2012 when a receiver had been appointed by AIB to his group of companies, including Patrick Butterly and Sons Limited (in receivership) .

Loss of income

He said he had been unable to keep up monthly payments following the loss of income and of his companies. He had no job but was now engaging in some consultancy work and intended to resume repayments to the bank.

Judge Linnane asked how he proposed entering into some repayment arrangement with the bank when he did not have a job. The judge suggested he look at the matter realistically and consider selling the property.

A solicitor for Mr Butterly, who said he would be seeking to come off record for the defendant, told the court that there was still substantial equity in the property being sought by the mortgage company and asked for an adjournment to allow Mr Butterly engage with the bank.

Judge Linnane said there had already been two judgment mortgages registered against the same property in 2012 and 2014 by another financial institution and clearly he had other debts.

Paula Duffy, manager in the arrears support unit of EBS Mortgage Finance, told the court that a clause in the mortgage conditions provided that EBS Building Society could at any time assign the benefit of the total mortgage debt and this had been exercised in favour of her client.

Judge Linnane said she would adjourn the proceedings until early May to see if some realistic arrangement could be entered into.