Court of Appeal rejects church claims

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal brought by the trustees of a non-denominational church — the Victory Christian Fellowship against a High Court ruling that Bank of Scotland was entitled to appoint a joint receiver over three of its properties.

The three-judge court yesterday rejected arguments the Victory Christian Fellowship’s trustees Brendan Hade, the church’s senior pastor his wife Shelia Hade of Fountain Head, Rockbrook, Rathfarnham, Dublin, and Gerry Byrne of Woodstown, Knocklyon, Dublin, that the appointment of receivers in May 2013 was invalid because the decision to appoint receivers was precipitated after it obtained unauthorised confidential material about the Victory Christian Fellowship.

Paul McCann and Patrick Dillon were appointed as receivers over the properties at Kilmacud House, Kilmacud Road, Upper Stillorgan; Westland Row and Firhouse Road, Tallaght after Victory Christian Fellowship failed to satisfy a demand by Bank of Scotland for repayment of €18.76m in loans. The properties were put up as security for monies advanced to Victory Christian Fellowship by the bank in 2007.