NAMA company gets stg£9m judgement against Irish businessman

A NAMA company has obtained summary judgment for stg£9m against an Irish businessman arising out of his personal guarantee on unpaid loans of some Stg£22m made to a company.

National Asset Loan Management Ltd (NALM) sought the judgment against Michael Breslin over loans advanced by the former Anglo Irish Bank in 2007 to a company, Car Park Solutions Ltd, with registered offices at Belturbet, Co Cavan.

Mr Breslin and two other people provided personal guarantees over the loans which were later transferred to Nama.

Some stg£9m was not repaid by Mr Breslin, under that guarantee, when NALM demanded repayment in February 2015. Commercial Court proceedings seeking summary judgment followed.

Mr Breslin, who gave an address in New York, claimed he was entitled to a full hearing of NALM's claim because he had an arguable defence.

He claimed he was expressly assured by an Anglo official, at a meeting in October 2008, that if he executed a guarantee of indemnity in relation to the loan, Anglo would provide finance for a project in Waterloo Road, London.

In March 2012, he said, after IBRC took over the functions of Anglo, he claimed he obtained full release from the guarantee arising out of a meeting of legal representatives for both sides.

His other grounds for seeking a full hearing included that he wanted to challenge the constitutionality of the law setting up Nama.

Mr Justice Brian McGovern ruled Mr Breslin had failed to raise an arguable defence.

The judge reached that conclusion having regard to "the clear and unambiguous terms" of the guarantee.

He also had regard to the provisions of the 2009 Nama Act which established transfer of loans to Nama and the test for that transfer had been met in this case.

NALM was entitled to summary judgment, he said.