Anglo hopes to have Drumm update for court in April

ANGLO IRISH Bank has said it hopes to be able to inform the Commercial Court in April about what is to happen to the bank’s action here against its former chief executive David Drumm over €8.5 million unpaid loans.

Anglo wants to recover €8.5 million from Mr Drumm while he is counter-claiming for some €2.6 million in salary, pension and deferred bonus payments and damages, including for “mental distress”.

The action was fixed for hearing the Commercial Court last October but could not proceed because, just days earlier, Mr Drumm filed for bankruptcy in the US.

Because of a worldwide stay on legal proceedings against Mr Drumm as a result of that filing, Anglo still cannot say what is to happen to its action here, its counsel Barry O’Donnell told Mr Justice Peter Kelly yesterday.

In relation to the US proceedings, March 18th is the date by which any claims to prevent Mr Drumm’s discharge in bankruptcy must be submitted, Mr O’Donnell said. In those circumstances, he wanted to adjourn the action here to April when there should be “greater clarity” in relation to proceedings in the US.

The Irish proceedings were contingent on the events in the US, he added.

A solicitor representing Kathleen Dwyer, the US trustee in bankruptcy dealing with Mr Drumm’s application, said he agreed the case here should be adjourned.

Mr Justice Kelly said he was concerned the Irish proceedings had been adjourned several times and were just running up costs. He could not see the point of adjourning them again unless it was to serve a purpose.

When the judge suggested the best course might be to have the proceedings here adjourned generally, with liberty to re-enter them when the US position is clear, the trustee’s solicitor said re-entry of the case would be regarded as a possible breach of the worldwide stay. Mr O’Donnell said his side’s advice was to the same effect.

While querying why such an approach would be adopted to an application to re-enter, the judge said he would grant one final adjournment of the case to April 12th.

If not proceeding with any urgency by then, the proceedings may no longer be granted the fast-track procedures of the Commercial Court and may have to proceed via the ordinary High Court list, he also indicated.

At a previous hearing, the judge was told the US trustee takes the view both the Anglo claim and Mr Drumm’s counter-claim should be dealt with in the US bankruptcy court and she was not proposing to get involved in proceedings here.