{"id":592683,"date":"2026-08-14T04:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T04:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/592683\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T04:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T04:08:12","slug":"judge-rejects-paddy-mckillen-jnrs-bid-to-have-bankruptcy-summons-set-aside-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/592683\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge rejects Paddy McKillen jnr\u2019s bid to have bankruptcy summons set aside \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The High Court has rejected businessman Paddy McKillen jnr\u2019s<\/a> bid to set aside a bankruptcy summons over an alleged \u20ac2.1 million debt.<\/p>\n

In a judgment on Thursday, Judge Liam Kennedy dismissed McKillen jnr\u2019s arguments to strike down lender Herbert Street Finance\u2019s (HSF) summons, finding that he had not established that the summons was an abuse of process, and was brought for \u201can ulterior motive\u201d. <\/p>\n

Kennedy also said he was not satisfied that McKillen jnr had raised a real and substantial issue to be tried in plenary proceedings. Establishing such an issue is grounds to set aside a summons, the judge noted.<\/p>\n

In seeking the dismissal of the summons, McKillen jnr, of Torquay Road, Foxrock, Dublin, raised several arguments, which he contended were real and substantive issues. <\/p>\n

This included an argument that the alleged debt was overstated and the loan was illegal because it was allegedly not a commercial loan made by a registered credit institution but one extended to McKillen jnr personally. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Paddy McKillen jnr \u2018in desperate straits\u2019 when seeking funds in late 2022, court hearsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Kennedy said the McKillen jnr side did not establish a real and substantive issue in respect of the illegality claim. \u201cHe has not established a credible basis to retrospectively characterise the transaction as an unlawful consumer loan,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n

The judge made similar findings in respect of other arguments raised.<\/p>\n

McKillen jnr has separately issued plenary proceedings, disputing liability for the alleged \u20ac2.1 million debt.<\/p>\n

Kennedy said the McKillen jnr side overstated the significance of issuing plenary proceedings. \u201cSuch proceedings and associated evidence are only a reason to dismiss if they disclose a real and substantial issue,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the circumstances, the plenary proceedings and the pleadings therein do not establish a real and substantial issue for trial. A different conclusion might have been warranted if meaningful particulars had been furnished and verified on affidavit.” <\/p>\n

The judge held HSF was not obliged to obtain judgment against McKillen jnr before issuing bankruptcy proceedings against him, and said the businessman\u2019s side had not established that the proceedings were an abuse of processes.<\/p>\n

Kennedy clarified that his dismissal of McKillen jnr\u2019s set-aside application does not finally determine the bankruptcy petition. McKillen jnr is contesting the petition. <\/p>\n

Issued in January, the summons, a first step in bankruptcy proceedings, alleged McKillen jnr would have committed an act of bankruptcy unless he paid an alleged debt of \u20ac2.1 million or applied to have the summons dismissed on grounds he was not indebted to HSF in any sum, or only in the sum of \u20ac20,000.<\/p>\n

HSF, represented by barristers Bernard Dunleavy and Niall \u00d3 hUiginn, instructed by AMOSS LLP, claimed the \u20ac2.1 million debt arose on foot of McKillen jnr covenanting to pay on demand the obligations of his Cool Dust Ltd firm to HSF, up to a maximum of \u20ac3 million.<\/p>\n

The lender claimed sums of \u20ac2.3 million were received in part-payment of Cool Dust\u2019s obligations, but about \u20ac2.14 million remains due and owing, plus daily interest.<\/p>\n

McKillen jnr, represented by barristers Gary McCarthy and Keith Farry, instructed by Kane Tuohy solicitors, denies he is indebted to HSF in any sum exceeding \u20ac20,000.<\/p>\n

Concluding his judgment, Kennedy said he was minded to adjourn the bankruptcy petition for six months to allow parties to progress the plenary proceedings in the Commercial Court, given the impact the potential outcome of that lawsuit may have on the petition. <\/p>\n

The case will be mentioned again in November. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The High Court has rejected businessman Paddy McKillen jnr\u2019s bid to set aside a bankruptcy summons over an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,73,61,60,59971],"class_list":["post-592683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-high-court","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-paddy-mckillen-jnr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}