O’Donnells lose bid to have bankruptcy overturned

Brian O’Donnell and his wife Dr Mary Patricia have failed in their bid to have their bankruptcy overturned.

At the High Court yesterday, Ms Justice Caroline Costello said the O’Donnells had not advanced any new evidence as a basis for an annulment of the bankruptcy obtained against them by Bank of Ireland in 2013.

They had sought to advance arguments which they were either in a position to make, or could with reasonable diligence, have made as early as March 2011, she said.

She said it would be an abuse of process to allow them advance an argument now it was Bank of Ireland Private Banking (BOIPB) rather than Bank of Ireland that they dealt with over their debts of €71.5m. BOIPB was not a licensed bank, the O’Donnells had claimed.

The judge rejected Mr O’Donnell’s submission the bank concealed the true identity of the lender.

The judge also said the reliance by the O’Donnells on the 2011 judgment against them, when they unsuccessfully sought bankruptcy in London, was fatal to their claim.

Mr O’Donnell interrupted Ms Justice O’Donnell while she was reading her judgment to say he had to be in the Supreme Court at 10.45am. The judge agreed to adjourn further consideration of her judgment to April 30. before leaving, Mr O’Donnell said they would be appealing her decision.

Mr O’Donnell then went to the Supreme Court where he was seeking to lodge an appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision on Wednesday that he and his wife vacate the former family home in Killiney, Co Dublin.

However, following a conversation with the Supreme Court registrar, Mr O’Donnell left the court.