A HEARING date has been fixed later this year for the action by Anglo Irish Bank seeking some €50 million judgment orders against its former head of lending, Tom Browne.

Mr Browne is seeking to call as witnesses certain people being pursued by Anglo itself, the Commercial Court heard yesterday.

The case will open on October 16th, is expected to last four weeks and will address a wide range of issues, including claims by Mr Browne that Anglo directors withheld information from him related to contract-for-difference positions built up by businessman Seán Quinn in the bank, which has since been nationalised.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly fixed the hearing date yesterday and, at the request of Paul Gardiner SC, for the bank, also asked Mr Browne’s side to provide the bank with a list of proposed witnesses.

Michael P O’Higgins SC, for Mr Browne, said some of his side’s potential witnesses are being pursued by the bank and that was causing difficulties.

Information about the witnesses would be provided to the bank as soon as it was available, counsel said.

Mr Justice Kelly listed the action for mention on June 18th for case management purposes.

While noting Mr Browne’s side had suggested a January 2013 hearing date, the judge said the case was “quite elderly” by Commercial Court standards, having been initiated in late 2010, and he would fix an October hearing date.

Mr Browne, of Ferney Hill, Brighton Road, Foxrock, Dublin, was head of lending at Anglo Irish Bank between 2005 and 2007.

He claims he has no liability for €50 million loans on grounds including that, when the loans were made, the bank was allegedly aware the interest acquired by Seán Quinn in the bank was such as to undermine its stability and to render his shareholding valueless.

Had he known of such matters, he would never have exercised his share options in late November 2007 or held on to shares that became “worthless”, Browne says.