The US court official overseeing Seán Dunne's bankruptcy has queried whether he may in fact be divorced from his wife, former gossip columnist Gayle Killilea Dunne.
Trustee Rich Coan raised the issue in documents seeking access to "in-camera" family law proceedings in Ireland involving Mr Dunne.
He believes information in the earlier Irish proceedings will shed light on a 2010 judgment in a separate Swiss family law case taken by Mrs Killilea Dunne against her husband.
This “may detail the transfers of tens of millions of euro to an insider – his wife (or ex-wife) Killilea Dunne,” Coan said in a court filing submitted on Sunday ahead of a hearing yesterday.
Mr Dunne transferred more than €100 million of assets and property to Mrs Killilea Dunne “for no or nominal consideration”. The developer has consistently refused to provide the information, saying it is protected by Irish in-camera laws covering the separate Irish proceedings. Mr Coan has accused Mr Dunne of hiding behind the Irish in-camera rule.
Mrs Killilea Dunne's lawyer, Eric Henzy, argued yesterday that she also had privacy rights under law in Switzerland, where she brought the family law case against Mr Dunne over a $44 million debt.
This should entitle her to details of any information sought by Mr Coan in his investigation of Mr Dunne’s finances that relate to her or their children.
Judge Alan Shiff put the case back to a hearing on July 9th.
