There is considerable pressure on Irish companies with Coronavirus. To add to this pressure, since 2008, many non-performing loans have been acquired from Irish banks by Vulture Funds who might be more aggressive in enforcement. There are risks posed by Brexit, in particular on companies that trade with the UK. The UK and Australia have […]
Commercial Litigation Ireland
Third-party funding of litigation and after the event (ATE) legal costs insurance
Third-party funding of litigation Litigation funding might fall foul of the rules against maintenance and champerty. Maintenance is defined as the giving of assistance or encouragement to one of the parties to an action by a person who has neither an interest in the action nor any other motive recognised by law as justifying his […]
Proving bank debt
It is common for a bank employee to set out in affidavit or in oral evidence the basis for the debt and a calculation of the arrears. One defence a defendant might use is that the evidence does not comply with Bankers Books Evidence Act 1879 (BBEA). There have been diverging authorities on this. The […]
Modular or Split Trials
A party may apply to have a trial split into parts– called split trials or modular trials. This is usually in order to save costs or to avoid inconveniencing witnesses. The most common application is for liability to be determined before quantum or the Statute of Limitations to be determined before the other issues. In […]
The Financial Services Ombudsman
Introduction The office of the financial services ombudsman (hereinafter FSO) was created by the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2004, which inserted sections into the Central Bank Act 1942 (hereinafter the Act of 1942). Some prerequesites for a claim are:- A claim can only brought by a consumer, which is defined […]
Insolvency of defined benefit pension schemes
Introduction Defined benefit schemes (hereinafter DB schemes) provide members with retirement and death benefits based on formulae set out in the rules of the scheme. Benefits are often based on a member’s salary at retirement age and on his or her pensionable service. The pension benefit under a DB scheme are often for a lump […]
