DJ Carey and partner told to pay bank €9.5m

FORMER HURLER DJ Carey and his partner, businesswoman Sarah Newman, have consented at the Commercial Court to judgment for more than €9 million against each of them in favour of AIB Mortgage Bank arising from loans and guarantees of each other’s liabilities.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly granted judgment for more than €9.5 million against Mr Carey arising from an April 2007 mortgage loan of €7.85 million advanced in the context of a wider commercial transaction involving him and associated businesses to refinance existing debt due to Irish Nationwide Building Society and to release equity on properties held by him and Ms Newman.

The €7.85 million loan was secured on properties at Ladycastle, the K Club, Straffan, Co Kildare, and the Inch, Mount Juliet, Co Kilkenny. The judgment also arises from Mr Carey’s guarantee of May 2007, limited to €1.5 million, of the liabilities of Ms Newman.

The bank said €8.025 million was due from Mr Carey under the mortgage loan account, while €1.503 million was due under the guarantee.

Judgment for about €9.4 million was granted against Ms Newman arising from her guarantee, limited to €7.85 million, of the liabilities of Mr Carey and under a €1.5 million mortgage loan secured on Ladycastle, the K Club.

The judgment was made up of €1.517 million under the €1.5 million loan and €7.901 million under the guarantee of Mr Carey’s liabilities.

James Doherty, for AIB, said “relatively minor” arrears – €7,349 – had arisen on the mortgage loan account but there was no response from Ms Newman to the bank’s communications.

Neither Mr Carey nor Ms Newman, Alma Road, Monkstown, Co Dublin, were in court yesterday but both were represented by a solicitor with the firm Whitney Moore who said they were consenting to judgment but wanted a stay on registration and execution of the judgment orders of three months.

Mr Doherty opposed a three-month stay. While the bank had made demands arising from loan account arrears from January last, it had received no response whatsoever from Mr Carey, he said. The bank could agree to a shorter stay but had “a degree of scepticism” given events to date.

In Ms Newman’s case, Mr Doherty said the bank opposed any stay. The bank was aware of issues concerning a Swiss property and wanted to be able to move quickly against that.

The judge agreed to place a four-week stay on the judgment order in relation to Mr Carey but refused any stay in the case of Ms Newman after noting the bank’s concerns about its ability to execute judgment over property in another jurisdiction.

Ms Newman had been given the opportunity by the bank to make proposals but had given no information, he said.

The bank said the €7.85 million mortgage facility given to Mr Carey was for a term of 20 years and subject to terms and conditions. It wrote to Mr Carey on January 19th, January 31st and February 7th last about arrears on the mortgage account. On February 7th, it demanded repayment of arrears within 21 days, failing which it indicated it would be entitled to terminate the facility.

On March 9th, the bank wrote to Mr Carey about the outstanding sums due and said, as no steps had been taken to remedy the breach, it was terminating the facility and demanding immediate repayment.

The bank again wrote to Mr Carey on March 28th advising him Ms Newman was in breach of her loan obligations. It demanded immediate repayment of the sum of €1.5 million under Mr Carey’s May 2007 guarantee of Ms Newman’s liabilities.

In the proceedings against Ms Newman, the bank said the €1.5 million 20-year mortgage loan facility of April 2007 was advanced via a release of equity on property in the context of a wider commercial transaction involving Mr Carey and associated businesses to refinance existing debt due to INBS and to release equity on properties held by Ms Newman and Mr Carey. Her guarantee of Mr Carey’s liabilities up to €7.8 million was also taken in the context of that transaction.