A MAN whose company bought some €200,000 in shares in Irish Life & Permanent in 2010 is to appeal to the Supreme Court a ruling that he is not legally entitled to represent the company in challenging the Government’s recapitalisation of the bank.

Piotr Skoczylas, the controlling shareholder of Maltese-registered Scotchstone Capital Funds Ltd, said yesterday he intends to appeal Mr Justice Kevin Feeney’s finding that he is not legally entitled to represent Scotchstone. An appeal was in the public interest, he said.

Mr Justice Feeney had said he was bound by a Supreme Court decision of 1968 (the Battle case) which found a limited company could not be represented in court proceedings by an officer of that company.

The judge also said a claim of inability to pay lawyers’ fees advanced by Scotchstone did not constitute a rare and exceptional circumstance allowing Mr Skoczylas to represent the company.

The judge was ruling on the first of a number of preliminary issues raised in proceedings in which Mr Skoczylas, his company, two Irish Life & Permanent (IL&P) shareholders, Gerard Dowling and Padraig McManus and, in separate proceedings, an investment fund, Horizon Growth, are all challenging the recapitalisation on grounds including it unlawfully imposed an unacceptable €2.7 billion burden on Irish and other EU taxpayers.

Yesterday, Mr Skoczylas said he wished to adopt a practical approach and, notwithstanding his Supreme Court appeal, the hearing of the other preliminary issues should continue.

He had, “under protest”, obtained a solicitor to provide technical legal representation for Scotchstone during the remainder of the proceedings and would lodge the appeal after the preliminary issues hearing had concluded.

The hearing continues today when the court will hear arguments on the Minister’s motion seeking to have the applications by Mr Skoczylas and Scotchstone struck out on grounds they were brought out of time.