Order made against couple who owe €17.4m to AIB

A COUPLE who owe €17.4 million to AIB have had a possession order granted against them for four properties at the High Court.

Yesterday was the 14th time the case of properties belonging to interior and property designers Tom and Antoinette Darcy, of Myra Manor, Malahide, was before the courts, counsel for AIB said.

The court heard that Mr Darcy had borrowed money to build designer family houses of between 4,500-8,500sq ft. The court also heard that Ms Darcy had signed documents but was not a property developer.

Mr Justice Brian McGovern described such houses as “huge” by any standard.

Mr Darcy said he was seeking the case to be adjourned because the couple were seeking to challenge a €17.4 million summary judgment against them.

Counsel for AIB pointed out that Mr Darcy had only filed documents to contest the judgment last week, even though the judgment was made in February 2011.

Mr Justice McGovern asked if the €17.4 million judgment had come as a shock to Mr Darcy.

Mr Darcy said at the time he did not care as he had lost three members of his family and was being medicated for depression. He disputed that he owed any money and accused the bank of reckless lending.

Among the properties ordered for repossession was Woodview, a house at Grey’s Lane, Howth.

In 2007 the couple had spent €200,000 demolishing and rebuilding unlawfully built glass-atrium-style additions in the multimillion euro home. These steps were to avoid going to jail after a case by Fingal County Council.

Yesterday the court heard that Woodview had been damaged in a fire and the pair had moved into the Myra Manor home. Woodview was being rebuilt pending release of funds from an insurance payout.

Mr Justice McGovern “felt sorry” for the couple who, like so many during the boom, got caught up in the hope of “making a killing” in the market. When people took risks they had to accept the consequences when circumstances changed, and “sadly they have”.

The judge offered a stay of nine months on the Myra Manor home in which the couple had been living in since 2009.

This case was among at least eight possession orders granted yesterday. An order for the former Dublin family home of a plumber with three children was granted to AIB yesterday. The case of the now-vacant Cabra home had appeared in court 13 times in the past four years, the court heard.

The borrowers took out a loan of €75,000 in 2004 but no repayments had been made since 2008. The loan currently stood at €92,946, the court was told.

Mr Justice McGovern granted a stay of three months.

A possession order was granted to Start Mortgages for a vacant property in which one member of the couple who took out the loan had emigrated to Australia. The €280,000 mortgage now stood at €301,920. Neither owner was in court. Granting the order Mr Justice McGovern reiterated that if people wanted the courts to help them they had to turn up.

Stepstone Mortgages was granted a possession order on a vacant house with arrears of €30,000, for which the owner had borrowed €216,000 in September 2007.