Business

Judge quashes ‘utterly ineffective’ subpoena for Central Bank governor to attend hearing

Central Bank not party to action that centres on a property in Mullingar

The judge said a subpoena compelling Gabriel Makhlouf to attend proceedings 'should be set aside'. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA

Aodhan O'Faolain
Thu Jan 25 2024 - 16:54

A judge has set aside an “utterly ineffective” subpoena requiring the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland to give evidence in a case due before the High Court later this month.

In his ruling on Thursday, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said a subpoena compelling Gabriel Makhlouf to attend proceedings against businessman Paul Coyle had “obvious deficiencies” and “should be set aside”.

The Central Bank is not a party to the action, brought by accountants Ken Fennell and James Anderson and Start Mortgages, concerning the plaintiffs’ bid for orders including an injunction requiring Mr Coyle and others who know of the order to vacate and give up possession of a property located at the Weir Market Point, Mullingar in Co Westmeath.

The action, which commenced four years ago, is against Mr Coyle and his wife Margaret Coyle.

READ MORE

However, documents put before the court on Thursday claim Ms Coyle is no longer a party to the proceedings.

The court heard that before the subpoena was issued, Mr Coyle was last corresponding with the bank from June 2023 and raised several queries about Start Mortgages.

The bank said it tried its best answer the questions put to it.

It was informed by Mr Coyle of his intention to subpoena the Central Bank governor unless it nominated a person to give evidence in the case.

The subpoena, which was hand-delivered to Central Bank’s offices in recent weeks, was issued by Mr Coyle, the judge held.

The judge said the subpoena document itself was flawed because it did not state which party wanted Mr Makhlouf to give evidence and did not state precisely which documents the governor or any nominated Central Bank witness should bring to court.

The judge also held that a subpoena of the type sought can only be issued if somebody outlined to court the precise basis for why a specific witness was required to give evidence.

This did not happen in this instance, the judge said.

The judge was satisfied that the document had been issued by Mr Coyle as a “fishing expedition” in the hope that it would turn up material that might aid him in the action against him.

The judge said he accepted that the Central Bank is not a party to the action, and only had the “dimmest of views” of what the dispute is about.

The subpoena, the judge concluded, was “utterly ineffective” and “an abuse of process”.

The application to set it aside was made by Shelly Horan BL, for the bank, who argued the subpoena was deficient.

Mr Coyle, the judge said, had been formally served with notice of the bank’s application to set aside the subpoena.

He was not present or represented in court for the brief hearing and the court was told that Mr Coyle, with an address at Hortland, Donadea, Naas, Co Kildare, is currently in the United States, and will not be back in Ireland until the day the case is listed for hearing.

Mr Fennell, Mr Anderson and Start Mortgages did not object to the Central Bank’s application to set the subpoena aside.

  • Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
  • Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
  • Our In The News podcast is now published daily – Find the latest episode here
LATEST STORIES