A BANK has secured summary judgment for €3.45 million against a man arising from an unfinished development in Dalkey to which a receiver has been appointed.
Investec Bank plc secured judgment on consent against John Stafford, Victoria Road, Killiney, Co Dublin, arising from a commercial loan granted in September 2006 for the development at Coliemore Road, Dalkey.
The bank brought its proceedings against Mr Stafford in the Commercial Court after he failed to repay the loan when demand for repayment was made in September 2008.
Mr Justice Frank Clarke was told yesterday that Mr Stafford was consenting to judgment but wanted a stay on the order to allow the Dalkey development to be completed and hopefully sold. Counsel for Mr Stafford said her client was not a property developer but had got involved in this development as a “once-off” transaction.
A receiver had been appointed last January but, if a stay was granted and the development was completed and sold on a finished basis, that would be in the interests of all as the property was at “one of the best addresses in Dublin”.
Counsel for the bank opposed any stay, arguing the development was “only a shell” and, in the current climate, there was no certainty how long completion might take, whether the property might sell and, if it did, for how much.
Counsel added that Mr Stafford’s own home at Victoria Road was on the market with a guide price of some € 4.4 million.
Refusing a stay, Mr Justice Clarke said it was agreed that the loan was advanced and €3.45 million was due and owing.
In the current climate there was a significant risk of prejudice to creditors if significant stays were granted, because these could have the practical effect of altering the prioritisation of creditors, especially in relation to the registration of mortgages.
While, in some cases, the balance of justice might require a short stay, there were no such circumstances here, he said.
A long stay was being sought and it was impossible to predict the consequences of that for the bank, especially as this was an investment property.
