|
Financial Litigation
Whereas it is wise to give careful thought
before embarking on any type of financial litigation sometimes,
the loss suffered by an individual is too great, , for someone
to avoid taking action. Financial litigation is an area of
legal practice which focuses on dealing with court cases which
involve financial disputes. A number of different types of
cases can fall under the this heading .Such cases involve
sums of money . For example a company or an individual is
obliged to go to court to collect monies owed to them , .
Financial litigation also covers financial wrongdoing by Banks
,repossessions , and a wide variety of other financial matters.
In some cases, an out of court settlement
may be reached if the litigation involves mortgage arrears
Such settlements may be advantageous to one or both parties
in a suit, for a variety of reasons ranging from preserving
a company's reputation to potentially recovering more funds
out of court than would be possible in court. In other instances,
it is necessary to proceed to court to try a case before a
judge.
Repossession
Under a power contained in a mortgage
Deed it is open to a financial institution to institute proceedings
for failure to repay a loan .In many cases this arises as
a result of losing a job or an alteration in other circumstances
but sometimes it arises due to the connivance or wrongdoing
of the lender The Court system when presented with a case
where a single person takes issue with the Bank conduct for
repossession and where such person opposes repossession of
property is often perceived as leaning in favour of the Bank
. Certainly the Bank is the stronger party in any such case
as the Borrower if in difficulties will have little funds
with which to pay lawyers to mount a defence .
Proceedings for repossession are initiated
by Summary Procedure .This means that the case before the
court and the person loaning the money is allowed to take
a short cut route to gaining possession of the assets which
were mortgaged to them .A person wishing to avoid judgment
being given must place in a sworn document called an ‘Affidavit’
the reason why judgment should not be given . The Banker for
their part sets out that the money was given , is owned and
remains unpaid .The Borrower is thought not to have any defence
as the money was extended to them and is not repaid .To allowed
to defend must show that they have a good arguable defence
to the proceedings .People are sometimes discouraged from
asserting a Defence in cases brought by the Bank for repossession
of assets as it is said that the Bank always wins and certainly
the Bank proceeds in many cases as if the Borrower should
not be allowed to make a case in their own defence .
It is sometimes assumed by a Court and
it is certainly argued by Counsel for the Bank that Borrowers
who put up a fight are just trying to ‘delay the inevitable’
when they raise matters which are their legitimate expectation
in Court . Because the information the Court gets from the
Borrower may be potentially misleading either through poor
preparation as the Borrower cannot afford the money required
for Defence or because the Borrower does not have the same
level of information available to their affairs as the Bank
have , the Courts rule again and again that foreclosure or
repossession must proceed.
Prosecution of Other Actions
An action is commenced by way of Plenary
Summons which is served on the party with whom one has a dispute
.A Statement of your argument which is called a Statement
of Claim is then furnished which is usually signed by the
lawyers who are taking the case on your behalf .When a defence
is received the case is then set down for a hearing date .There
are other applications also within the process to allow for
specific information {called Discovery}.
The law regarding intentional interference
with contractual relationships is based on the principle that
‘A violation of a legal right committed knowingly is
a cause of action’ .The Law recognises that people have
a legitimate right to protection in the legitimate pursuit
of their businesses. For instance ‘a combination of two
or more persons wilfully to injure a man in his trade is unlawful
and if, it results in damage to him is actionable’ Intimidation
and intentional interference with economic interests are also
some of many causes of action which come under the general
heading of Financial Litigation.
‘ Defences to Financial Litigation
A defence is an argument directed to
the Judge of the Court in support of your position . To support
such a position one requires information to be compiled and
assembled in a coherent easy to read and logical sequence
If the matter relates to repossession
at the Summary Hearing Stage the Court decides is repossession
is to be granted or if the case is to sent for a full hearing
of the facts . The obtaining of personal information from
the bank is important . A person is entitled to have this
information under the 1988 & 2003 Data Protection Acts
and it is not advisable to engage in Court Proceedings without
it . It is our experience that if for instance an institution
such as a bank have a reluctance to release certain documents
and personal information is withheld there is a possibility
that grounds for a defence may very well exists in the documents
held .
Dublin
City Centre. 28 North Great Georges St. Dublin 1
Tel : 353-1-8745608 . Fax : 353-1-8897868
To get advice about this service or talk to a solicitor please CLICK HERE
Copyright Farrell Soliciitors
2008, Designed by Ripe Design |
