A director of Bula Limited (in receivership) claimed in the High Court yesterday that proceedings issued by National Irish Investment Bank (NIIB) against his company are an abuse of the legal process.
But Mr Ian Finlay SC, counsel for the receiver of Bula, alleged such a claim was another ground being laid by Mr Michael Wymes for yet another set of proceedings in the lengthy legal battle over the fate of the ore body at Nevinstown, Navan, Co Meath.
Three banks - NIIB, Ulster Investment Bank (UIB) and Allied Irish Investment Bank (AIIB) - claim to be owed more than £60 million by Bula.
A Dublin chartered accountant, Mr Laurence Crowley, was appointed receiver by the banks in 1985 and he has applied to have proceedings brought against him by the Bula directors struck out.
A previous hearing was told that Mr Wymes alleged no monies were due to the banks because they were outside the legal time limits for making their claims. Mr Finlay said this was an extraordinary suggestion and the receiver had responded that he was proceeding with the sale of the ore body.
Yesterday, Mr Finlay said that NIIB, in order to protect itself against Mr Wymes's assertion that the banks' claims were statute-barred, had issued well-charging proceedings in 1997. These still remained to be determined.
In an affidavit, Mr Wymes said NIIB was seeking an order effectively enforcing the sale of Bula mine because of an alleged default in payment of a judgment of £24.3 million in their favour.
He alleged NIIB, like AIIB and UIB, had for the past 13 years "steadfastly refused to attempt to sell Bula's lands and premises . . . presumably because, were they to have done so, they would have been exposed to the need to pay very substantial amounts of tax which they have apparently sought to avoid by deliberately not seeking to rely on their power of sale".
Mr Wymes said that NIIB's well-charging proceedings effectively deprived the receiver of any right or necessity to proceed further with attempts to dispose of the Bula lands.
The hearing continues today.
