The bankrupt property developer Seán Dunne (70) has asked High Court judge Liam Kavanagh to recuse himself from a case from which two other High Court judges have already withdrawn.
Mr Dunne is seeking to challenge the appointment of two officials appointed to oversee his bankruptcy and the distribution of his assets to his creditors. He wants the case to be heard by a judge who has no links to matters he has been involved with over the years.
Two judges, Mr Justice Garrett Simons and Ms Justice Nuala Jackson, have already recused themselves from hearing the case, in which Mr Dunne is seeking to challenge the validity of the appointment of former official assignee Chris Lehane and his successor, Ian Larkin.
Mr Dunne wants “a judge that is absolutely not conflicted” but, because of the duration of his bankruptcy proceedings and five “pretty substantial commercial cases” he has been involved in, “many senior people in the Bar have been tied up” in his affairs, he told Mr Justice Kavanagh earlier this week.
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Addressing the court by video link, Mr Dunne said he had written to the president of the High Court, Mr Justice David Barniville, to ask him to ensure a judge is assigned to the case who is not conflicted.
Mr Dunne said he believed Mr Justice Kavanagh should not hear the case because he was a former equity partner in law firm A&L Goodbody, who had acted “against me” in a previous case. “I believe it is best practice if you did not play any role in the present proceedings,” he said.
Mr Justice Kavanagh said he did not believe he had ever personally acted in a case, or given advice in a case, with which Mr Dunne was connected. He did not think that his being a partner in the firm meant he was conflicted, but he would reflect on the matter, he said. If he decided he should not hear the case, he said, he would find another judge.
Úna Nesdale, for Mr Lehane and Mr Larkin, and solicitors Clark Hill, who acted for the bankruptcy officials, said her clients had no issue with the judge hearing the case.
The court heard Mr Dunne, who is representing himself, wants to cross-examine Mr Larkin and may make an application to add the director of the Insolvency Service of Ireland, Michael McNaughton, to the case.
Ms Nesdale said Blake O’Donnell, a solicitor, had acted as a “McKenzie friend” to Mr Dunne, and that it appeared from newspaper reports that Mr O’Donnell may be involved in proceedings seeking similar reliefs to those being sought by Mr Dunne.
A McKenzie friend is a person who gives assistance or advice to a lay litigant. Mr O’Donnell’s parents, Brian and Mary Patricia O’Donnell, formerly of Gorse Hill, Vico Road, Killiney, Dublin, were declared bankrupt in 2013 and exited bankruptcy in 2017. They lodged proceedings earlier this month against Mr Lehane and Mr Larkin, court filings show. Blake O’Donnell, who was never declared bankrupt or subject to bankruptcy proceedings, is also a plaintiff in the proceedings.
Mr Dunne was declared bankrupt in 2013, owing hundreds of millions of euro to the banks. He remains in bankruptcy with his term having been extended by the High Court due to his non-co-operation with bankruptcy officials and his non-disclosure of information about assets. He is not due to exit bankruptcy until 2028.
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