The Commercial Court has been told that lawyers require more time to finalise a settlement agreement around a case being taken by Belfast property developer Patrick Kearney against stockbroker Davy and 16 of its former employees over a 2014 bond deal.
Senior Counsel Martin Heyden, representing Mr Kearney, told the court this morning that slightly more time was needed to finalise orders and asked that the case be put back to Friday.
Mr Justice McDonald agreed to hear the case again on that day.
Yesterday the court was told that the case had been settled, but the orders had yet to be agreed.
Mr Kearney and his firm Kilmona Holdings initiated the legal action two years ago over a 2014 deal which saw Davy act for the businessman in the sale of Anglo Irish Bank bonds to a consortium known as the O'Connell Partnership, which was made up of 16 Davy employees buying in a private capacity.
In March 2021, the Central Bank fined Davy €4.1m and reprimanded it over regulatory breaches related to the transaction.
It found Davy prioritised facilitating an opportunity for the consortium to make a personal financial gain over ensuring that it was complying with its regulatory obligations.
The reprimand was followed by the departure of a number of senior figures at the broker and its subsequent sale.
Mr Kearney initially took a case against Davy in 2015 and later reached a settlement with it worth around €1m.
But following the Central Bank fine in 2021, he initiated fresh legal action against Davy and the 16 members of the O’Connell partnership seeking to have the previous settlement set aside and making fresh claims, which have been denied by the defendants.
Sources have indicated that the new settlement once finalised will see Mr Kearney receive around €2m.
There will be no admission of liability on behalf of the defendants.
