The Irish courts have jurisdiction to decide a dispute over an arrested motor pleasure boat bought for more than €1.2m by a company of an Irish-born tax lawyer, a High Court judge has ruled.
The M.V. Connoisseur was arrested last August on foot of a High Court order and remains moored in Dun Laoghaire port.
The 17.29 metre vessel was built in 2017 and was bought for commercial purposes for some €1.26m by Conway Club Limited (CCL), incorporated in early 2017, with registered offices in London.
CCL is legally and beneficially owned by Kevin Conway, a tax lawyer who is Irish-born but an English resident for more than 20 years, Mr Justice Denis McDonald said.
Mr Conway was a director of CCL up to November 6th 2017, not long after he was adjudicated a bankrupt in the English courts on the petition of UK Revenue and Customs, he said.
CCL had agreed in 2017 to buy the M.V. Connoisseur from MGM Boats of Dun Laoghaire for € 1.265m.
A French company, S.G.B. Finance S.A, (SGB) part-financed the purchase under an €822,250 loan agreement . That agreement was held by a deed which created security over any earnings of the vessel and by a personal guarantee of Mr Conway's. The agreement was also intended to be secured by a mortgage over the vessel, the judge noted.
After CCL fell into arrears on monthly loan instalments from January 2018 , SGB issued demands and warned it would take all necessary action to enforce its mortgage.
Mr Conway had sent a draft copy of a proposal for an Individual Voluntary Agreement, similar to a Personal Insolvency Arrangement, to SGB on July 6th last, predating the arrest of the vessel.
Mr Conway had said the vessel was with MGM Boats in Dublin for purposes of sale . He said this should enable CCL to repay its debts to him in full after the sale proceeds were used to extinguish the amount due to SGB.
In August 2018, SGB issued proceedings against the owners and all persons claiming an interest in the vessel claiming some €797,000 was due and owing to it under the loan agreement with CCL.
On August 21st, the High Court granted SGB’s ex-parte (one side only represented) application for arrest of the vessel.
CCL later brought this application challenging the Irish court’s jurisdiction, arguing it was solely for the courts of England or France to assert jurisdiction.
On Friday, Mr Justice McDonald found SGB has a maritime claim which was sufficiently disclosed at the time of the vessel’s arrest which gave SGB a right to arrest it.
The arrest of the vessel to enforce that maritime claim gave the Irish court jurisdiction over the substance of the claim against CCL under Article 7.1 of the 1952 Brussels Convention relating to the Arrest of Seagoing Ships, given force of law here by a 1989 Act, he found.
He also concluded justice requires the case be heard here, for reasons including the vessel remains under arrest and it is in the interests of all parties to have the matter dealt with, he said.
The judge added he will make directions shortly aimed at ensuring a speedy trial.
