Former Anglo Irish Bank chief David Drumm has made a series of proposals to the bank in an effort to settle its action against him, the Commercial Court heard today.
Anglo is seeking orders requiring him to repay loans of more than €8 million.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly today asked the bank to indicate to the court in two weeks time whether it is agreeing to the settlement offer.
Declan McGrath, for Mr Drumm, had earlier told the judge proposals had been made in an open letter his client wrote to Anglo two weeks ago but there was as yet no “substantive” reply.
His side were anxious to know Anglo’s response as this would impact on the continuing costs being incurred in preparation for the hearing of the proceedings against Mr Drumm, fixed for next October, counsel said.
John Hennessy SC, for Anglo, said Mr Drumm’s letter was “under consideration”.
When Mr Justice Kelly asked when there was likely to be a response, Mr Hennessy said he could not say. The judge said the bank had had the letter for two weeks, it was a matter of “yes or no” and it should indicate to the court in two weeks time what its response was.
Earlier, the judge had awarded costs to Mr Drumm’s side arising from the resolution of discovery issues between the sides.
After receiving an additional affidavit from Anglo chief executive Mike Aynsley outlining the basis for the bank’s claim of privilege over certain documents being sought by Mr Drumm - including documents relating to directors loans and emails between former Anglo xhairman Sean Fitzpatrick and Mr Drumm, - Mr McGrath said his client was no longer seeking those documents.
Mr Justice Kelly ruled Mr Drumm was entitled to the costs of the motion over privilege as the court had ruled the initial claim of regulatory privilege was not fully set out by Anglo and because the court had directed an affidavit of discovery from
Mr Aynsley had to be amended to conform with the rules of court.
In his latest affidavit, Mr Aynsley said the class of privilege being asserted over the documents at issue was litigation privilege. The bank was not asserting privilege on behalf of any other entity or individuals but on its own behalf and was not seeking to protect individuals, he said.
The bank was subject to several regulatory and criminal investigations and also a party to some 22 civil claims arising from the matters under investigation, he said.
As chief executive, he regarded the potential for criminal or regulatory sanctions against it as “a very serious matter” and was equally concerned about the prospect of a large volume of civil litigation against it. The bank was entitled to fair procedures and natural justice in the context of the investigations, which might result in legal proceedings.
He also said the documents to which the privilege claim related concerned director’s loans, “one of the so-called legacy issues under investigation”, and the relevance of many of them to the issues in this case was “tangential”.
In the proceedings against Mr Drumm, who resigned in December 2008, he claims the demand for immediate repayment of the January 2008 loans breaches loan agreements and is counter-claiming his employment was not validly terminated in early 2009.
He claims Anglo owes him some €2,620,695 in salary, pension and deferred bonus payments and also wants damages, including for mental distress.
After the loans action concludes, the court is due to hear Anglo’s action against Mr Drumm and his wife Lorraine to set aside Mr Drumm’s transfer of the family home at Abington, Malahide, Co Dublin, to his wife. Anglo claims the transfer is a fraud on creditors but the couple, now living in Cape Cod, US, claim it was for “taxation reasons”.