The High Court has reserved judgment on the action by the four adult children of solicitor Brian O’Donnell aimed at preventing Bank of Ireland getting possession of their home in Killiney, Co Dublin.
Mr Justice Brian McGovern will decide later if the children are entitled to remain in the property at Gorse Hill, Vico Road, valued at €30 million in 2006 but now said to be worth between €6-7million.
Blake, Blaise, Bruce and Alexandra O’Donnell are resisting the bank’s claim for possession as part of its efforts to enforce a €71 million judgment secured in December 2011 against their parents, Brian and Mary Patricia O’Donnell, arising from unpaid loans. The children claim they are the legal and beneficial owners of Gorse Hill and that the bank has no valid claim to it.
The court has heard the house and 3½ acres are owned by Vico Ltd, an Isle of Man company, and the shareholding of Vico Ltd is owned by a discretionary trust set up by the O’Donnell parents in favour of their children.
The dispute is about whether Gorse Hill is an asset of the trust legally and beneficially owned by the children.
