Bank applies for permission to serve bankruptcy proceedings on Dunne

Ulster Bank wants High Court permission to use various means to serve its Irish bankruptcy proceedings on developer Seán Dunne, who is now living in the US, a judge was told yesterday.

Mr Dunne has filed for bankruptcy in the US, but Ulster Bank is bringing similar proceedings against him here in relation to a €164m debt owed by him allegedly arising out of guarantees he executed over loans for the redevelopment of the Jurys Hotel site in Dublin.

Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne yesterday adjourned the Irish bankruptcy application after she was told the bank wanted an order allowing it to substitute the normal personal service of proceedings on him by various other means.

Under such a “substituted service” order, the bank can seek notify him of the case by a number of means, including by ordinary post at an address in this jurisdiction, or in America, or by email or other means.

The bank previously obtained permission of the High Court to personally serve him in America, during the course of separate court proceedings against him in Connecticut, but it is believed there have been difficulties in doing so. The court also heard previously, that the bank’s view is that Mr Dunne still carried on business here, acted as a landlord and his family continued to live here.

Yesterday, Lyndon MacCann SC, for the bank, said the court may have seen from newspaper reports that Mr Dunne has filed for bankruptcy in the US.

The judge commented there might be an issue as to Mr Dunne’s domicile but Mr MacCann said he is only living in the US on a temporary visa. The judge agreed to adjourn the application for substituted service for a week and said she would give a return date for the bankruptcy application to May 30.