Quinn action against IBRC allowed to continue

The courts have the power to allow existing actions to proceed against former Anglo Irish Bank, now IBRC, including that of the family of bankrupt businessman Sean Quinn, a High Court judge has ruled.
Justice Sean Ryan said, in making his ruling last week, that it was “impossible to conceive” how the Government had, via an immediate stay on actions against the bank set out in Section 6.2.a of the new IBRC Act, terminated the Quinn family case and those of many like them “in an instant”. As a result he said, claimants had being deprived of a right to apply to court.
It’s estimated that up to one third of existing cases currently before the Commercial Courts are against IBRC. The Act, which President of Ireland Michael D Higgins flew home from a diplomatic visit to Italy to rubber stamp, caused huge uncertainty as to whether greviences against the bank could continue to be persued in the courts.
When lawyers for the Quinns applied last month for the stay on their case to be lifted, it was subsequently referred to the High Court for clarification.
Justice Ryan said in his judgement last week that any interpretation of Section 6.2.a would involve “extensive and substantial interference with constitutional rights in modes that are discriminatory and unjustified and unnecessary”.
In those circumstances, the action by Patricia Quinn and her children should and can proceed once the criminal proceedings against former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Sean Fitzpatrick and two senior Anglo executives are completed.
The Quinn family claim they cannot be held liable for some €2.34bn worth of loans advanced by Anglo Irish Bank to Quinn companies on grounds that the loans themselves were unlawfully granted by way of artificially propping up the bank’s share price at the time.
The Quinns are now expected to apply for permission to join the Department of Finance and the Central Bank, as regulator, as co-defendants with IBRC to their case.
Meanwhile, members of the Quinn family were back on court last Tuesday, where lawyers for IBRC have said that evidence given by members of the Quinn family about money withdrawn from Russian bank accounts and used for legal fees was “completely unbelievable”.
Senior counsel Shane Murphy was making submissions for the bank in a disclosure application before the High Court yesterday (Tuesday, March 19).
Members of the Quinn family were cross-examined in January about their disclosure of assets and bank accounts. Mr Murphy said evidence was given that huge sums of cash withdrawn in Ireland were used for legal fees yet no bills or receipts could be accessed.
IBRC alleges widespread asset stripping of Quinn companies.