The High Court yesterday granted an application by Mr Laurence Crowley, receiver of Bula Ltd since 1985, to strike out proceedings taken against him by the company, acting, the court said, through a director, Mr Michael Wymes.

Ms Justice Carroll found the proceedings were in breach of an undertaking given by Mr Wymes to the High Court in June 1997. The proceedings taken against Mr Crowley were in the name of Bula Limited (in receivership) and she awarded costs against the company.

She also directed that a claim entered by Mr Wymes over the Bula lands at Nevinstown, Co Meath, should be vacated.

The judge noted the action was one of a complex series involving Bula Limited dating back to 1986. The heart of the Bula case in relation to Mr Crowley was that the receiver's appointment by the banks was unlawful and he had no right to sell the lead and zinc orebody adjoining Tara Mines in Co Meath.

During the hearing, three banks which loaned money to Bula to exploit the orebody claimed they were now owed some £60 million by the company which disputed the debts.

Litigation relating to Bula has continued for some 13 years. After a 277 day hearing, the High Court in early 1997 dismissed proceedings taken by the Bula directors against the State and Tara Mines. Bula directors then took claims against Northern Bank Finance Corporation, Ulster Investment Bank and Allied Irish Investment Bank in 1997.

The directors then sought an adjournment of the action against the banks pending the outcome of the Supreme Court appeal on the Tara case. Lawyers for the directors agreed all claims against the banks and Mr Crowley, other than issues relating to the statute of limitations, must fail if Bula lost the Supreme Court appeal. The receiver and banks opposed the adjournment at the time.

Mr Justice Barr granted an adjournment on a number of conditions including that the directors recognise and agree that, if Bula lost in the Supreme Court, the directors' primary claims in the banks action would stand dismissed and each of the directors would undertake that they would not mount further proceedings against Mr Crowley in relation to any alleged wrongdoing of which they were then aware or, in the court's opinion, ought then to be aware.

The undertaking was given. Bula later lost the Supreme Court appeal.

Notice of intention to proceed with the action against Mr Crowley was served in May 1999 and a claim was registered on the Bula lands on May 17th 1999. The receiver applied to have the action struck out on several grounds, including that the action was in breach of the undertaking given to the High Court.

Yesterday, Ms Justice Carroll said the undertaking concerned facts known or which ought to have been known to Bula in 1997. Mr Wymes was seeking to make the case that his statement of claim dealt with wrongdoing of which he was not aware when the undertaking was given.

It would be a denial of justice to Mr Crowley to release the plaintiff from the undertakings given, the judge said.