PTSB bid should be ‘flung out’

A director of Permanent TSB has described as “an egregious breach of court process” a court bid by the bank and a group of directors to prevent any action aimed at disqualifying any of the directors from involvement in the management of a company.

Piotr Skoczylas told the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, that the court bid against him and others, including some shareholders of PTSB, should be “flung out” with an order for costs against the bank and other plaintiffs.

Last Friday, PTSB and 10 of its directors or former directors secured an interim order restraining Mr Skoczylas, Scotchstone Capital Fund Ltd, and six others taking any legal proceedings aimed at disqualifying any of the 10 directors or former directors under Section 160 of the Companies Act.

Mr Justice Kearns returned the interim order to yesterday, when Mr Skoczylas said his side had prepared affidavits replying to the PTSB application and was ready for the case to go on.

Paul Gallagher, counsel for PTSB and the 10, said he wanted an opportunity to reply to the affidavits.

Mr Skoczylas argued that the other side was seeking to encroach on his side’s fundamental constitutional rights and there was clear case law indicating the application could not stand.

Mr Justice Kearns said he had to grant an adjournment to allow for a reply to Mr Skoczylas’ affidavits. He made directions for exchange of affidavits and returned the matter to Monday.

Mr Skoczylas was appointed to the PTSB board directly by shareholders at an EGM of the company on July 22, 2011. He is managing director and fund manager at Scotchstone.

Last Friday’s interim order was made against him, Scotchstone, and six named individuals — Gerard Dowling, Padraig McManus, Georg Haug, John Paul McGann, Tibnor Neugebauer, and Muriel Scorer. Some of those are shareholders of Irish Life & Permanent.

The interim order was sought on behalf of PTSB, CEO Jeremy Masding, and several directors and former directors — Kevin Murphy, David McCarthy, Pat Ryan, Bernard Collins, Ray MacSharry, Emer Daly, Margaret Hayes, and Sandy Kinney.

They claim any issuing by Mr Skoczylas of proceedings under Section 160 is an abuse of process and part of an ongoing campaign against the recapitalisation of Irish Life & Permanent.

The matters complained of by Mr Skoczylas were not disqualification matters but were designed to apply pressure in relation to other proceedings involving the defendants and to interfere with the restructuring plan for IL&P, they claim.