The recent judgment of Ulster Bank & Ors v McDonagh
& Ors [2020] IEHC 185, is one in a series of judgments
stemming from the purchase of a site at Kilpeddar in County Wicklow
in 2008. In this instalment, the Court addresses some important
questions around settlements, concurrent wrongdoers and summary
judgment. Although much of the judgment considers factual
disputes and the substantive claim, the judgment also makes a
number of interesting observations on the interpretation of s17(2)
of the Civil Liability Act, 1961 insofar as it relates to summary
debt claims.
The facts
In 2008 the Defendants, the McDonagh brothers, took out a
€21.8 million loan from Ulster Bank (the
"Bank") to purchase an 80-acre site at
Kilpeddar, County Wicklow. Planning permission was obtained to
develop a data centre, however, for various reasons this did not
proceed and ultimately the McDonaghs were unable to repay the loan
which was secured on the 80-acre site. A compromise agreement
