A building society was stopped by the High Court yesterday from evicting two pensioners from their apartment home over their Wexford grocery store. Mr Justice Kelly granted an injunction restraining the Irish Permanent and the sheriff from putting Mr James and Mrs Sara Pettit and their belongings on the street outside their shop in Selskar Street, Wexford, yesterday afternoon.
Mr Simon Kennedy, for the Pettits, told the court the eviction was imminent and might be going ahead as he spoke.
He said a possession order in favour of the building society had been granted by consent in July 1997. The couple had since been represented by a number of solicitors.
Mr Pettit was in his late 60s and had become ill as a result of having to care for his wife who had a stroke a number of years ago. Mr Kennedy said the couple had taken out a mortgage in 1993 with the Irish Permanent. They had run into difficulties because of their ailing health. When the consent order was made material facts had been unknown to the solicitors representing them at the time.
He said that since taking over the case he had discovered a penal interest rate of 3 per cent had been charged in respect of the borrowings and the couple now faced a demand for £95,000.
They had asked the building society to allow them rent out their shop, but had it refused.
"I retained the services of an accountant and discovered that the basis upon which the possession order had been granted, and agreed to, was founded on a miscalculated debt."
The judge granted the restraints and gave leave to notify the Irish Permanent's solicitor and the Wexford County Registrar.