Courts

Company director has almost €9m debt written off for €50,000

‘You can’t get blood from a stone,’ says High Court judge when approving debt settlement arrangement

The debt arose from facilities advanced by Bank of Scotland in 2008 for development property in Glasnevin, Dublin. Photograph: Gunnar Pippel/Getty

Mary Carolan
Mon May 13 2024 - 16:11

A company director has had almost €9 million in unsecured debt written off in return for a payment of €50,000 under a debt settlement arrangement approved by the High Court.

“You can’t get blood from a stone,” Mr Justice Alexander Owens remarked when approving the debt settlement arrangement (DSA) in the case of Mark Quinn (63), a divorced father of two who lives in his partner’s property at Laurence Grove, Clontarf, Dublin.

Mr Quinn owes €8.9 million to Everyday Finance DAC and is unable to pay the debt, according to documents put before the court in support of his application.

The debt arose from facilities advanced by Bank of Scotland in 2008 for development property in Glasnevin, Dublin. The debt, acquired by Everyday, is residual debt following sale of the property involved.

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Keith Farry BL, for Eugene McDarby, Mr Quinn’s personal insolvency practitioner, said Mr Quinn is a director of Bold Communications Limited and has a monthly income of €2,600, accounting for about 44 per cent of the household income. He has no assets except use of the family car, in his partner’s name, “which is probably overvalued”, and there would be nothing for his creditors in a bankruptcy, counsel said.

A lump sum of some €50,000 had been raised by family and friends as a contribution for the creditor, the court heard.

Everyday had voted in favour of the DSA, which applies to unsecured debt and was made under the Personal Insolvency Acts, before it was approved by Mr Justice Owens during a brief hearing on Monday.

Mary Carolan

Mary Carolan

Mary Carolan is the Legal Affairs Correspondent of the Irish Times

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