Student claims over fees properly disallowed: court

Claims by 190 students aimed at recovering €300,000 fees and other costs incurred when they could not complete courses at Eden College after its liquidation were properly disallowed as claims in the liquidation, the Court of Appeal ruled.

Given that and other findings, the three-judge court ruled that Anthony J Fitzpatrick was duly elected liquidator of Eden Further Education Ltd, the college’s operating company. The High Court erred in permitting Mr Fitzpatrick be replaced by a liquidator chosen by the students and certain other creditors, it said.

Eden College, based at Dublin’s Burgh Quay, blamed its closure in April 2014 on cashflow difficulties following its suspension, pending an investigation, from a register of approved colleges by immigration authorities.