Irish Stock Exchange seeks ruling on Bloxham action

The Irish Stock Exchange has asked the Commercial Court to rule whether or not decisions made by it may be judicially reviewed.

It contends they may not.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly yesterday fixed Jun 25 for determination of that matter as a preliminary issue in an action by the liquidator of Bloxham stockbrokers against the Irish Stock Exchange.

The liquidator claims Bloxham’s €6m value on the exchange was set at nought after its exchange membership was revoked. Mr Justice Kelly had previously queried why two sets of proceedings had been brought by liquidator Kieran Wallace challenging the revocation decision made last December.

The judge suggested the matter might better proceed via one action rather than via both judicial review proceedings and plenary action, as of now, and asked both sides to consider that.

He was told yesterday by Lyndon MacCann, counsel for the liquidator, that his side had written to the ISE solicitors suggesting the public law issues could be addressed in the plenary case.

The ISE was not agreeable to that and wanted the matter struck out on the basis of its argument there was no public law element at all, counsel said.

The judge said he had made the suggestion but it had not met with approval. In the circumstances, he granted an application by Paul Sreenan, counsel for the Exchange, to fix for trial, as a preliminary issue, whether the ISE may be subject to judicial review.

Mr Sreenan also indicated his side may proceed with an application to have the liquidator provide security for the legal costs of the case. That matter will be addressed later.

Bloxham, a limited partnership, was ordered to cease trading by the Central Bank last summer after it was revealed it was undercapitalised.

The partners applied to have it wound up saying they saw no prospect of an improvement in its trading position and the High Court later confirmed Mr Wallace as liquidator.

The firm’s largest creditors included National Irish Bank, owed €8.5m, and the Revenue Commissioners, owed €2.3m. Bloxham’s held membership of the Irish and London stock exchanges.

Last December, the ISE revoked its membership.

Mr Wallace claims the ISE, through its head of regulation, Daryl Byrne, failed to give sufficient regard to the financial impact on the firm of being prevented participating in the surplus that would arise in the proposed re-organisation of the Irish Stock Exchange.