Developer’s wife denies Nama claim

The US wife of Irish property developer John Flynn is asking the Commercial Court to declare she has no interest in a Dublin office park as part of Nama’s bid to recover a €22m debt owed by the Flynn family.

Leona Flynn, who lives in Palm Beach, Florida, for most of the year, denies Nama’s claim that the transfer to her husband of her 10% interest in Belfield Office Park never took place or, if it did, it is an unenforceable agreement.

The Flynns dispute a demand for repayment of some €22m issued by Nama over loans made by Anglo Irish Bank to members of the family related to the Belfield property.

Nama claims Mrs Flynn is seeking to suggest she is no longer the owner of the Belfield shareholding because it is the only one of her four Irish properties over which she has a personal liability in relation to the loan on it. Her interests in the other three — the Hermitage and Blackrock Medcial Clinics in Dublin and the former Smurfit headquarters in Beaver Row, Dublin — are ringfenced and are non-recourse or non-personal liabilities.

Mrs Flynn denies Nama’s claims and the court heard she transferred the Belfield interest to her husband in 2008 on advice of her accountant because new tax laws were about to kick in in the US and she wanted to minimise her liability there.

In her proceedings against Nama company National Asset Loan Management, Mrs Flynn wants Mr Justice Brian Cregan to rule she has no beneficial interest in Belfield.

Nama denies her claims and has brought a counterclaim against her, her husband John Sr, John Flynn Jr, James Flynn, and Elaine Flynn seeking judgment for some €22m.

The hearing resumes next week.