The Commercial Court is being asked to decide today if Seán Quinn should continue to take part in the proceedings being taken by his family against the former Anglo Irish Bank despite the fact that he has been declared bankrupt.
Mr Quinn's wife, Patricia, and five adult children claim they are not liable to repay more than €2 billion in loans from the bank. They say the loans were given for the illegal purpose of manipulating Anglo's share price.
Mr Quinn and two other former directors of the Quinn Group were joined as third parties to the action by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation. It says that if the family wins its case against it, it is entitled to seek compensation from Mr Quinn and the two other men.
Mr Quinn wants to continue to defend that claim. But the court official responsible for his estate has said he will not defend the case as it would be of no benefit to creditors.
Mr Quinn is represented in court by two senior counsel, a junior counsel and a solicitor. Senior Counsel Brian Cregan said they were representing Mr Quinn on this issue on a pro bono basis, which means they are not being paid.
Mr Quinn's lawyers argue that the Bankruptcy Act does not expressly deprive him of the right to defend proceedings. They also argue that there are certain types of legal actions a bankrupt can bring and can defend. And they argue that Mr Quinn has a constitutional right to defend his good name.
But the bank argues that although Mr Quinn's bankruptcy does not deprive him of the right to defend a case, it does take away his interest in his property. It is against the property that the bank's claim would ultimately be made. The bank also says a bankrupt can defend only proceedings which are directed at him or her personally.
IBRC also says that because the court is not required to make any findings of fact against Mr Quinn, he cannot invoke his constitutional right to defend his good name
The action is expected to last most of the day. Mr Quinn is in court, as is the chief executive of IBRC, Mike Aynsley.
