Former Bula Resources chairman Mr James Stanley was yesterday given High Court permission to sell certain shares to pay some £95,000 (€120,000) in legal fees.
Mr Stanley is the subject of an interim court order freezing his assets worldwide. That order contains a proviso allowing him £750 weekly towards expenses.
In court yesterday, Mr James Gilhooley SC, for Mr Stanley, asked Ms Justice Carroll to allow his client sell 1,000,050 shares in Gaelic Resources worth £15,575 and a further 5.8 million Bula shares worth £75,000.
Counsel said Mr Stanley needed the money to pay legal fees which he had understood would be about £50,000 but which now appeared more likely to be about £95,000.
Substantial legal fees had been incurred by his client in this litigation including a judicial review application challenging the report of Government-appointed inspector, Mr Lyndon McCann, into the affairs of Bula.
Mr Michael Cush SC, for Bula, said the weekly allowance was clearly never going to be enough to meet Mr Stanley's legal expenses. While not disputing Mr Stanley's right to seek to vary the injunction against him, any such application should be based on a detailed affidavit setting out all the facts, including all assets held by him. That had not been done.
Miss Justice Carroll said these were legitimate legal expenses and Mr Stanley was entitled to have the injunction against him amended to facilitate the sale of the shares. The judge put a stay of seven days on her order in the event of an appeal by Bula.
