High Court grants 12 possession orders

TWELVE ORDERS for possession were granted at the High Court yesterday, including six against a man who claimed the court was acting on a “whim” and “at the behest of the bank”.

The investor landlord and his wife had taken out a loan from ACC Bank secured against eight properties in Meath and Louth in 2006.

After running into difficulties, they sold two of the properties in 2009.

The proceeds were used to clear their arrears and the balance was paid towards their debt. But they fell behind with repayments again and the Commercial Court subsequently gave a judgment against the couple for €1.9 million and a receiver was appointed to the properties. They now owed €2.1 million, counsel for the lender said.

The defendant told Miss Justice Elizabeth Dunne he and his wife had an agreement with the bank that the balance of the house sales would be ringfenced and held to pay off the balance of mortgage repayments that were not met by rent from the remaining six properties.

He accepted Mr Justice Frank Clarke had ruled there was no such agreement and the judge had said it had been “wishful thinking” on the part of his wife.

But, he said, his wife was an intelligent woman working in business and it was an insult to claim it was “wishful thinking” on her part.

Since the receiver had been appointed he had been unable to collect any rent to put towards the mortgage. He asked for the case to be adjourned pending an appeal of the Commercial Court decision to the Supreme Court.

Counsel for the lender said there had never been any agreement to ringfence the proceeds of the two sales. Miss Justice Dunne said the fact someone was appealing an order did not make it any less binding.

GE Capital Woodchester Homeloans Ltd was granted two orders for possession yesterday, as were Start Mortgages Ltd and KBC Bank Ireland Plc.