Landlord seeks almost €1.5m in damages from Lisney estate agents

Paddy McKeown said he engaged firm to carry out valuations on six properties in Cork

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Mark Tighe Twitter Email

January 15 2023 02:30 AM

A Cork landlord is seeking almost €1.5m in damages from Lisney estate agents over allegations that it wrongly supplied confidential valuations of his properties to a bank, causing it to take legal proceedings against him.

Margaret Kelleher, Lisney’s chairwoman, is among the staff involved in the dispute. The landlord, Paddy McKeown, said he engaged Lisney to carry out valuations on six properties he owned in Cork in 2014.

The report carried out by Ms Kelleher and her colleagues valued the six properties at €2.73m.

Mr McKeown alleges that despite him paying €5,000 plus Vat to Lisney it sent the valuation report to AIB without his permission or knowledge and before it was sent to him in December 2014. Mr McKeown entered discussions with AIB about restructuring his loans in 2015.

He alleges that AIB relied on Lisney’s report, which he said was defective in a number of ways, including that it claimed one property was “over-rented”.

Mr McKeown said that after his restructuring proposal was rejected AIB began legal proceedings to have a judgment entered against him and again relied upon the Lisney report.

He is claiming damages for breach of contract and negligence. He is seeking special damages of €1.467m.

His case was filed in September 2017. In May 2018 the real estate company filed a notice seeking 33 different particulars from Mr McKeown about his claim.

The case did not progress for four years until last September, when Ms Kelleher filed an affidavit supporting a motion from Lisney to have Mr McKeown’s case dismissed for undue delay and a failure to file particulars.

Ms Kelleher noted the €1.47m sought by Mr McKeown was “notably” similar to the amount of the judgment granted to AIB against him and his wife Adelaide. The Lisney chair noted the McKeowns had failed to overturn that judgment in the Court of Appeal.

She said Mr McKeown’s failure to progress his claim against Lisney since 2017 was “both inordinate and inexcusable”. She said Lisney viewed the case as “both misconceived and devoid of any merit whatsoever”.

“The proceedings (wrongly) call into question the professional repute of the defendant and the mere fact of such proceedings, notwithstanding the lack of merit, is damaging to the reputation of the defendant and will continue to be until such time as the proceedings are determined or dismissed,” she said.

Lisney was forced to notify its insurers about the case. While it did not materially affect its premium there was a risk it could.

Ms Kelleher pointed out that the case concerned matters that happened eight years ago and memories would naturally lapse and this could prejudice Lisney’s ability to defend the case. On November 28 last year, Mr McKeown filed his reply to the particulars sought.

He described Lisney’s notice for particulars as “an abuse of process” because of its repeated and “exhaustive” requests for documentation.

Mr McKeown also filed an affidavit setting out 15 reasons that he was delayed in progressing the case, including the death of his wife from cancer in April 2022 and the prolonged legal battle that the couple had fought against AIB and its successor Everyday Finance.

He requested that Lisney’s application be dismissed and that the real estate company lodge its defence so the case can proceed.

The case is up for mention on January 25.