DEVELOPER Bernard McNamara will not be forced to reveal details of his wealth in public following a settlement between him and a group of investors who fell out with him over a failed €400 million property deal.
Last January, Jersey-registered Ringsend Property Ltd (RPL), whose backers include Martin Naughton and Lochlainn Quinn, won a High Court judgement for €62.5 million against Mr McNamara over unpaid loans given to his company, Donatex, one of the partners in a joint venture which paid €412 million for the glass bottle site in Ringsend, Dublin, in 2007.
Mr McNamara said he was unable to pay the €62.5 million. RPL claimed he had substantial assets in Ireland and elsewhere, and subsequently got an order demanding that he file details of this with the High Court, which would have resulted in the information being made public.
The court was told yesterday that as part of a settlement between the parties, Mr McNamara will give a statement of affairs to the company and its backers. As a result, RPL has for the time being relented on its demand that he give this information to the court.
It has also agreed to hold off on a demand that he allow the court to cross-examine him on the extent of his assets.
However, the original judgment for €62.5 million still stands. As a result, RPL will have a claim on any awards that the court makes to Mr McNamara, should he be successful in suing the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA), which was also involved in the glass bottle site deal.
Mr McNamara is suing the authority as he claims it assured him that it could secure planning permission for the site. The permission was never granted, and the site’s value subsequently plummeted. It is now worth an estimated €60 million.
Yesterday, John Gleeson, for the investors, told the judge the sides had reached agreement on the investors’ motion requiring Mr McNamara to file a statement of affairs.
Under that settlement the motion was to be struck out with no order for costs, and the court should also vacate its order of February 22nd last directing Mr McNamara to file an affidavit of means.
Mr Justice Kelly said the parties had apparently reached a settlement, and he would strike out the motion and vacate the order requiring Mr McNamara to disclose his assets.
The judgment order of €62.5 million stands, but the sides had settled the motion for orders by way of execution of that judgment. Mr McNamara maintained that he had no “unencumbered assets” – properties over which no other parties, such as the banks, had a claim.
As a result of the case, he stepped down from his involvement with Michael McNamara and Company, the family-owned construction business which he ran.
