Court reserves judgment in Quinn family case over assets

The Commercial Court has reserved judgment on an application by the family of bankrupt businessman Sean Quinn to stop assets of Quinn companies being sold or moved to Nama by the end of this year.

Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan heard final arguments on behalf of the Quinns and Irish Bank Resolution Corporation yesterday and said she was reserving her decision.

Kieran Wallace, the special liquidator of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, which appointed share receivers to various Quinn companies in April 2011, contends Mrs Patricia Quinn and her five children have made out no legal basis for their application.

His counsel Paul Gallagher SC argued yesterday the court was entitled to take into account that members of the family had not contradicted the bank’s claims they had engaged in asset stripping measures.

Martin Hayden SC, for the Quinns, said the court should not take into account such claims by the bank in circumstances where it had not brought contempt proceedings against most of his clients. They had not addressed the asset stripping claims because that was not the issue for the court to decide, he argued.