IBRC wants Quinns’ action to open as soon as possible

State-owned IBRC has urged a judge to direct that the Quinn family’s action aimed at avoiding liability for €2.34 billion loans should open as soon as possible this year.

The DPP wants the case deferred pending criminal proceedings against former executives and officials of Anglo Irish Bank, due to open in January 2016.

At the Commercial Court on Wednesday, Mr Justice Robert Haughton began hearing an application by IBRC to lift a stay, granted last June to the DPP, which had deferred the case to January next in light of the criminal proceedings.

Paul Gallagher SC, for IBRC, said there were concerns the case, and the bank's separate case against members of the Quinn family and others aimed at recovering money allegedly misappropriated from Quinn companies, would be indefinitely deferred due to existing proceedings against various former officials and executives of Anglo.

If former Anglo chief executive David Drumm is extradited, there could be other proceedings which would defer the Quinn cases to at least 2018, he also said.

Counsel said “hundreds of millions” of euro are at stake and the public interest requires the various Quinn cases should not be further delayed.

The family’s case, initiated in 2011, was listed for trial on three previous occasions but deferred each time, with the latest deferral bringing it to January 2016.

The deferrals were granted by the Commercial Court on the application of the DPP who had concerns the case could affect the separate criminal proceedings against various executives and officials of Anglo, IBRC’s predecessor in title.

The Quinns’ case was last listed to open on June 3rd but was put off until January 2016 in the context of criminal proceedings against former Anglo chairman Seán Fitzpatrick, due to start last October but since deferred to late May 2016.

The judge has indicated there may be a date available in early December should the IBRC application be granted. He will continue hearing the application on Thursday.

Last July, the Quinns and IBRC agreed to mediation of their dispute but no details concerning the progress of mediation have been provided to the court.

Preparations for the hearing of the action by Patricia Quinn and her five adult children continued alongside the mediation. They allege some €2.34 billion in loans made by Anglo to various Quinn companies were for the unlawful purpose of propping up the bank's share price. Following a Supreme Court decision last March, they cannot pursue other aspects of their claim alleging the loans are unenforceable.

The costs to date of the litigation between the family and IBRC is estimated at several million euro. There were six senior counsel, five juniors and at least five solicitors in court for the latest application.