Ivan Yates wins costs over AIB’s failed bankruptcy bid

Former Fine Gael minister and broadcaster Ivan Yates has been awarded legal costs for his successful application in having AIB’s bid to have him declared bankrupt dismissed by the High Court.

In a judgment last August, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne found that a bankruptcy summons issued by the bank in respect of Mr Yates, arising out of his alleged failure to satisfy a demand by AIB for payment of €3.69m, could be struck out.

The judge said Mr Yates, who she found was entitled to challenge the validity of the summons, had raised “real and substantive issues”, in respect of the amount sought by AIB.

These issues, which had “some prospect of success”, have to be “litigated outside of the bankruptcy process”. For that reason the judge said she was dismissing the bankruptcy summons. The summons was issued last May in respect of a sum of €3.69m claimed by AIB.

AIB claimed the money was due on foot of guarantee, dated Apr 2010, between it and Mr Yates where he agreed to pay on demand all the liabilities due and owing by Celtic Bookmakers — the bookies chain founded by Mr Yates. The bank served its demand for payment of the money on Mr Yates in Apr 2012.

Lawyers representing Mr Yates had argued before the High Court that the summons was invalid on several grounds including that the amount being sought by AIB was overstated.

Yesterday, when the matter returned before the court AIB sought that no order be made in respect of the parties legal costs on grounds including that Mr Yates acknowledged he was indebted to AIB for a sum of more than €3m and that he had not succeeded on all of the points argued.

AIB further claimed that Mr Yates had not informed it, when he moved to south Wales earlier this year, that he intended to seek to be adjudicated as a bankrupt in that jurisdiction.

In reply Mr Yates’s lawyers claimed he was entitled to his cost as he had succeeded in his action. The court also heard last July that prior to the hearing of the action Mr Yates had refused to give an undertaking that he would not seek to be adjudicated bankrupt in the UK. The court had not been misled in regards to Mr Yates intentions, it was argued.

Ms Justice Dunne, in awarding the former minister his costs, said that Mr Yates had succeeded overall in having the bankruptcy summons dismissed.