Two lenders owed a combined €11 million are seeking to cross-examine businessman Paddy McKillen jnr under oath in the High Court regarding his financial affairs, as his personal insolvency arrangement bid faces mounting disclosure challenges and a fresh legal costs order.
Lenders Seek Under-Oath Examination Over Disclosed Debt Details
Lawyers representing Herbert Street Finance and Cabriz Finance have pressed the High Court for permission to examine Paddy McKillen jnr under oath about his assets and liabilities. The two lenders are owed €2.3 million and €8.7 million, respectively, totaling a combined debt of €11 million.
Hospitality entrepreneur Paddy McKillen Jr has consented to a judgment of nearly £2m (€2.3m) in favour of a lender which sought to make him bankrupt.https://t.co/6s5jRFZxCRhttps://t.co/6s5jRFZxCR
— https://x.com/BelTel/status/2108515894637002771
The push for an oral examination stems from what legal representatives describe as an absence of detail in the financial information submitted for a protective certificate. Bernard Dunleavy, counsel for Herbert Street Finance, told the court that a revised statement of financial affairs will be necessary following an affidavit sworn by insolvency practitioner Eugene McDarby.
That affidavit pointed to a judgment obtained by Herbert Street Finance in October for a €2.3 million debt, alongside other developments and information provided by creditors during the protective certificate period. Counsel for the lenders argued that any facts uncovered during the examination will ultimately serve the interests of all creditors.
Disputed Disclosures and Family Financial Arrangements
The legal challenges to the insolvency bid centre on complex family-related arrangements and court disclosures. Creditor lawyers have pointed to what they characterize as inconsistencies and silence in previous court applications, linking an earlier bankruptcy summons battle to the current protective certificate dispute.
Court proceedings have previously revealed that McKillen jnr owes €2.9 million to his wife Edel McKillen and €1.8 million to his mother Maura McKillen, debts that lenders argue elevate family members in the creditor hierarchy amid an overall declared insolvency of €27.7 million.
Keith Farry, appearing as barrister for McKillen jnr and insolvency practitioner Eugene McDarby, maintained that his client stands firmly over the financial statements submitted to the court, calling them truthful and accurate. Mr. Farry submitted that the lender examination application was intended to embarrass the businessman.
Counsel for Herbert Street Finance rejected that characterization, stating that his client was not in the business of embarrassing anyone
. Judge Nessa Cahill directed both sides to file written submissions regarding the examination request and adjourned the matter for two weeks.
Bankruptcy Summons Costs and Ongoing Court Timeline
In a separate High Court ruling, Mr Justice Liam Kennedy ordered McKillen jnr to pay the legal costs incurred by Herbert Street Finance in defending an earlier attempt to set aside a bankruptcy summons.
The lender initiated the bankruptcy process in January over a debt exceeding €2 million, which culminated in an August dismissal of McKillen’s set-aside application. While the newly awarded costs will be captured under the protective certificate, McKillen’s legal team noted they could not formally consent to the order while acknowledging the lender’s success in that specific defense.
McKillen jnr secured a protective certificate in September after declaring he was firmly insolvent
with total liabilities of €27.7 million, granting him a temporary shield from creditor action while he pursues a personal insolvency arrangement.
The substantive bankruptcy petition has been adjourned to January. Meanwhile, the personal insolvency case returns to the High Court, where parties are preparing further written evidence and affidavits to address the disputed disclosures before the protective certificate’s expiration date in December.