ACC Bank is entitled to €1.08m summary judgment orders against businessmen Jay Bourke and Eoin Foyle arising from loans related to The Skylab building at Exchange Street in Dublin, a High Court judge has ruled.
Mr Justice Kevin Feeney found Mr Bourke and Mr Foyle had failed to make out any arguable defence to the bank's claim and ruled the bank was entitled to the orders, plus costs and interest. He placed a stay on his order for four weeks.
Mr Bourke, Leinster Road, Rathmines, Dublin, and Mr Foyle, Charelville Road, Rathmines, Dublin, had opposed the application on grounds including alleged contributory negligence by the bank in failing to engage with their proposals for the buying out of their debt and for purchase of the Skylab building by their business partner, Jan Kohler.
The Commercial Court was told Mr Kohler, who owns 50% of the building, is not in default on any loans.
ACC had argued there was no dispute the loan was made and drawn down and also said, even if the Skylab building was sold, that could take a year.
Mr Justice Feeney had adjourned the matter to today for the purposes of receiving a report from ACC appointed receiver Declan Taite addressing some of the issues raised after which he gave his decision.
The judge found neither defendant had raised an arguable defence on any of the issues raised such as required the matter to proceed to plenary hearing.
ACC claimed €1.084m was owed by Mr Bourke and Mr Foyle under a facility letter of May 2008 under which loans were advanced to finance and fit out The Skylab. Repayments were not made under that facility since June 2010 and E1.084 million was due and owing by both defendants, it said.
Last November, the bank appointed Mr Taite as receiver and manager over the interests of Mr Bourke and Mr Foyle in The Skylab. While The Skylab was a secured asset, the bank said it was unlikely that asset would be realised in the short to medium term and, when realised, there was likely to be a significant shortfall.
The Skylab was valued at more than E6 million at the height of the property bubble but has "devalued very considerably", the court previously heard.
In an affidavit on behalf of himself and Mr Foyle, Mr Bourke said ACC had advanced funds to refinance his 25% share of the costs of developing and fitting out The Skylab and entered into a similar agreement with Mr Foyle and Mr Kohler, with Mr Foyle holding a 25% stake in the property and Mr Kohler holding the remaining 50%.
All the funds advanced to him were secured against his interest in the property and he had made proposals to ACC to deal with the debt but it failed to address those in a timely fashion, he alleged.
He has no unencumbered assets against which ACC could secure any judgment, he added.
