A CO WEXFORD businessman, who obtained more than €1.6 million in insurance compensation for his fire-damaged hotel, has been told by the High Court not to reduce his assets from the award below €669,000 pending the settlement of issues with his bank.
James Salafia SC, for Irish Life Permanent, which trades as Permanent TSB, said Frank Murhill, owner of The Pines country house hotel and leisure centre, Camolin, Enniscorthy, owed the bank an outstanding mortgage of almost €700,000.
John O’Connor, solicitor for the bank, told Mr Justice John Edwards the hotel had been badly damaged in a fire in 2008, on the day its insurance policy expired. He said Mr Murhill, unknown to Permanent TSB, had sued Wexford Insurances for allegedly failing to renew his insurance with Royal Sun Alliance Insurance.
The bank had only recently learned he had been paid €1.5 million in settlement of those proceedings and his company, which was no longer operating as a hotel, was due to be paid more. He said the bank feared unless Mr Murhill and the company was restrained from dispersing the monies paid to them or due to be paid to them, it would suffer substantial losses.
Mr Justice Edwards granted the bank an injunction restraining any dissipation of the compensation and adjourned the matter into the new law term.