THE FORMER Anglo Irish Bank has agreed that freezing orders on the accounts of members of the family of bankrupt businessman Seán Quinn can be varied to allow €430,000 be paid to meet the family’s legal fees for the period May to July.
The €430,000 fees include a €135,000 fee to Dublin law firm Eversheds for 485 hours worked on behalf of the family between May 12th and June 29th last.
Those fees are based on hourly rates of €370 per partner, €282 for senior solicitors, €227 for solicitors and €97 for trainee solicitors.
Eversheds may also be paid an additional sum up to €150,000 (net of VAT) for further work from this month up to early August.
The €430,000 sum also includes a €20,000 brief fee for each of the two senior counsel who represented the family in the freezing order proceedings against them, plus refreshers of €4,000 per day for senior counsel.
The junior counsel brief fee for that application was €12,500 with refreshers of €2,500 per day.
The two senior counsel who represented Seán Quinn snr, Seán Quinn jnr and Peter Darragh Quinn on June 26th last when judgment was delivered by Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne against them in contempt proceedings will get €3,000 each for that day.
Both senior counsel will get another €4,000 each for representing the Quinns on June 29th, when Ms Justice Dunne made various coercive orders sought by the bank. Senior counsel and junior counsel will get additional payments for work up to July 20th next.
In relation to the bank’s bid for an order withdrawing reference of a jurisdictional issue to the European Court of Justice, the Quinns’ senior counsel brief fee for is €10,000, while junior counsel’s brief fee is €6,000.
The €430,000 also includes a €10,000 fee for a Cypriot law firm who provided advice for the family.
The fees payment variation was made yesterday by Mr Justice Peter Kelly after he was told the fees had been agreed to by Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, formerly Anglo, which secured account freezing orders last month in its proceedings aimed at restraining the dissipation of assets valued up to €500 million in the Quinns international property group.
Also on consent of Barry O’Donnell, for the bank, the judge varied the freezing orders to clear the way for completion by Bank of Ireland of the sale of the Belfry Hotel and golf course, on which the bank holds security.
That variation was necessary in light of a company shareholding held by Seán Quinn jnr.
The freezing orders restrain Mr Quinn’s children, his nephew Peter Darragh Quinn, two sons in law – Stephen Kelly and Niall McPartland – and a number of international companies dealing with assets owned or controlled by them worldwide below €50 million each.
The Quinn defendants have been allowed up to €8,000 for ordinary living expenses each, subject to approval by the bank’s lawyers and receipts being provided, until the injunction orders return to court on July 24th or further order.
