The High Court in Harrold V Nua Mortgages Limited [2015] IEHC 15 has again made clear that there is no tort of reckless lending in this jurisdiction and that it is not prepared to entertain 'fanciful' arguments by borrowers seeking to repudiate their loans.
DisputesThe Work and Families (Northern Ireland) Act 2015 ("WFA") will come into full legal effect in Northern Ireland in early April 2015, having received Royal Assent earlier this month.
BelfastThe Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by Irish Asphalt in Noreside Construction Ltd v Irish Asphalt [2014] IESC 68.
Commercial ContractsFollowing agreement last month by local politicians, the Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Bill was introduced on 8 January 2015 which provides for the devolution of Corporation Tax rate setting powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Investing in IrelandIn James Elliot Construction v Irish Asphalt Ltd [2014] IESC 74, which involved the supply of defective infill material, the Supreme Court held that an appeal by Irish Asphalt should be dismissed, but such an order was subject to any issue of European law which the Court was referring to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
DisputesThe Department of Finance has published the "Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2015".
FinanceIreland leads the way as an aircraft leasing jurisdiction and new developments for 2015 will further strengthen Ireland’s position. Ireland is already one of the most popular jurisdictions for aircraft leasing due largely to the fact that Ireland’s fiscal regime offers substantial advantages to the aircraft leasing industry.
Aviation & Transport FinanceAnti-bribery/corruption laws are well established in the UK and US. Recent developments in those jurisdictions have offered timely reminders of the importance of businesses there having a robust anti-bribery framework.
DisputesThis case related to a claim by ACC Bank plc (the Bank) for a summary judgment against the first named defendant on foot of a personal guarantee of €250,000 in respect of a loan facility to a company, China Girls Limited (the Borrower) of €3.9m.
Financial RegulationThe High Court in ICS Building Society -v- Lambert [2014] IEHC 581 has made clear that while the Financial Regulator's Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (the Code) confers a discretion on the court in dealing with an application for possession the absence of co-operation by a borrower will mean that it will generally not be possible to assess the reasonableness of any proposal made.
Financial Regulation2014 has been another busy year in the courts for restriction and disqualification applications.
Restructuring & InsolvencyThe Labour Court recently issued an important decision stating that an employee is not entitled to rely on the provisions of the grounding European Working Time Directive against a private sector employer in circumstances where she was claiming an entitlement to accrue annual leave whilst on sick leave (Sparantus Limited t/aHighfield Healthcare and Agnieska Jemiola DWT 4110).
Employment
