Building group loses its fraud claim against First Active

THE Cunningham Group of building companies has lost a central claim in its marathon legal action against First Active after a judge yesterday rejected a claim of fraud against the bank in its dealings with the group.

Mr Justice Frank Clarke found Galway developer Brian Cunningham’s group had failed to establish a prima facie case against the bank, or against a receiver sent in by the bank to take over the group in 2003, in order to allow the trial to continue.

The action, which involved a large number of linked cases, began last year and only finished hearing evidence and submissions from the Cunningham side the week before last.