This week Mr Justice Frank Clarke has been dealing with case management issues for the forthcoming showdown between Paddy McKillen and NAMA (and the State and Attorney General). The case is scheduled to be begin on the first day of the Michaelmas term, 5th October 2010 and is pencilled in for two weeks (though reporting in the Irish Times today suggests just four days).
Aside from the usual procedural matters decided in any case management hearing, Mr Justice Frank Clarke has been asked to consider whether Paddy McKillen can amend his application to include the kerfuffle started last week when Senator Eugene Regan claimed he has received correspondence from the EC which made it clear that unimpaired borrowers were not to be included within the ambit of NAMA. This matter is dealt with in a separate entry last week but yesterday Paddy’s people wanted the correspondence admitted and Paddy’s claim to be expanded.
The State, NAMA and Attorney General have resisted Paddy’s attempts and the judge is set to rule on the matter this afternoon. My view is that the EC letter referred to is a storm in a teacup and doesn’t advance Paddy’s case at all but Paddy’s battle to have it included demonstates that he is leaving no stone unturned in what is set to be one of the legal battles of the decade assuming the judges accept the challenge in the first place.
Remember for the background to the Paddy McKillen case plus all the most up to date news, there is a separate tab devoted to this one legal challenge.
UPDATE: 24th September, 2010 – RTE is reporting that Paddy McKillen has succeeded in his attempt to expand his claim and include the EU letter reported here last week in the substantive hearing.
NAMA Wine Lake 