Court hears of difficulties serving papers on Mick Wallace

A summons server has told the High Court of difficulties in effecting service of documents on Independent TD Mick Wallace and his son in a liquidation case.

The court has said papers against both men can now be served by ordinary post and email.

Michael Leydon, liquidator of the TD's construction and property firm, is bringing proceedings against Mr Wallace and his co-director son Sasha seeking to have them disqualified from acting as company directors, or alternatively restricted in that role, over their stewardship of the company.

The firm had been in receivership since 2011, when ACC Bank appointed a receiver on foot of a €20 million debt.

Last year, Promontoria Aran, a subsidiary of US fund Cerberus, appointed Mr Leydon arising out of a €2 million judgment against the company in relation to the Italian Quarter development in Dublin.

The TD had previously raised questions over the Cerberus purchase of a group of Northern Ireland-linked loans, called Project Eagle, from Nama for €1.6 billion.

Mr Leydon's restriction/disqualification application was before Mr Justice Robert Haughton on Monday when the judge was told there had been difficulty serving papers on Mick Wallace at his address on Clontarf Road in Dublin and on Sasha Wallace at an address in Russell Street, Dublin, which he had given.

Affidavit

Stephen Brady, for the liquidator, said an affidavit from a summons server showed that despite having called to the Clontarf house on seven occasions in the past three weeks, it had not been possible to serve the papers. The property is guarded by gates and the intercom did not appear to work, the summons server said.

It had not also been possible serve papers on Sasha Wallace in Russell Street.

Mr Brady sought permission to serve the papers by ordinary post at Clontarf Road, as well as at Mr Wallace’s Dáil address and his constituency address in Ferrycarrig Park, Wexford. He also sought to serve both men by email.

Mr Justice Haughton said he would allow a two-stage process for the serving of papers. This would be serving by ordinary post on both men’s Dublin addresses and by email.

If that did not achieve “the desired effect”, the liquidator could come back to court in three weeks’ time, the judge added.

Mr Wallace said after the hearing he had not heard from Cerberus or its lawyers. “I am not a difficult person to find, I have been in the Dáil five days a week,” he added.