AIB Finance Ltd v Sligo County Council

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Mr. Justice Morris
• Judgment Date: 01 January 1995
• Neutral Citation: 1994 WJSC-HC 1998
• Court: High Court
• Docket Number: No. 3 Sp. Ct. 6/1990
• Date: 01 January 1995

AIB FINANCE LTD v. SLIGO CO COUNCIL

IN THE MATTER OF AN INTERPLEADER APPLICATION PURSUANT TO THE

PROVISIONS OF ORDER 57 OF THE RULES OF THE SUPERIOR COURTS

BETWEEN

A.I.B. FINANCE LIMITED (FORMERLY ALLIED IRISH FINANCE COMPANY LIMITED)

APPLICANT

AND

THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF SLIGO AND ANDREW CURNEEN

CLAIMANTS

1994 WJSC-HC 1998

No. 3 Sp. Ct. 6/1990

THE HIGH COURT

Synopsis:

ADMINISTRATION

Personalty

Moneys - Gift - Donor - Death - Estate - Extent - Whether gift complete - Whether resulting trust in favour of donor - Deposit account in joint names of donor and another - (1990/3 Sp - Morris J. - 25/10/94) 1995 1 ILRM 81

|A.I.B. Finance Ltd. v. Sligo County Council|

GIFT

Money

Transaction - Completion - Failure - Donor - Death - Resulting trust - Deposit account with bank - Deposit moneys held in joint names of donor and another person - Whether intention to benefit other person by survivorship - Nuncupative testamentary disposition - (1990/3 Sp - Morris J. - 25/10/94) 1995 1 ILRM 81

|A.I.B. Finance Ltd. v. Sligo County Council|

TRUSTS

Resulting trust

Gift - Moneys - Transaction - Completion - Failure - Donor - Death - Deposit account with bank - Deposit moneys held in joint names of donor and another person - Whether intention to benefit other person by survivorship - Nuncupative testamentary disposition - Deposit moneys payable to donor's executor - (1990/3 Sp - Morris J. - 25/10/94) 1995 1 ILRM 81

|A.I.B. Finance Ltd. v. Sligo County Council|

Citations:

RSC O.57

OWENS V GREEN 1932 IR 225

RICHARDS V DELBRIDGE 1874 LR 18 EQ 11

LYNCH V BURKE 1990 1 IR 1

LOCAL AUTHORITIES (ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS) ACT 1945

1 Judgment of Mr. Justice Morris delivered the25th day of October 1994.

2 This matter comes before the Court as an Interpleader Summons brought by Allied Irish Finance Company Limited. There is on deposit with the company the sum of £51,749.57 plus accrued interest in deposit account No. 1/MC/8423/011. The original deposit of these funds was made by Fr. Stephen McGuinness [otherwise Patrick Stephen McGuinness] and the funds were lodged on the 2nd of September, 1986 in the joint names of Fr. McGuinness and the Sligo County Council. They were originally lodged to the Sligo branch of the Allied Irish Banks Plc. and were subsequently transferred to the account in Allied Irish Bank Finance Limited.

3 Fr. McGuinness died on the 18th of April, 1987 and Probate to his estate was granted to the second named Claimant, Mr. Andrew Curneen, on the 4th of February, 1988.

4 Both Mr. Curneen in his capacity as the Executor of the late Fr. McGuinness, and the Sligo County Council claim to be entitled to the money standing to the credit of the account and in these circumstances the Bank has claimed relief by way of Interpleader.

5 The basis upon which each of these parties claims to be entitled to the funds is as follows.

6 The Sligo County Council claims that the funds "are and always were a fully constituted gift" and that Fr. McGuinness and the Sligo County Council were joint trustees of the money in the account.

7 The second named Claimant claims to be entitled to the money as the personal representative of the late Fr. McGuinness and claims that there is a resulting trust in favour of Fr. McGuinness.

8 The circumstances in which this action arises can be summarised as follows:-

9 The late Fr. McGuinness was a native of Aclare in the County of Sligo. During his lifetime he acquired certain funds and in his retirement, in or about the year 1983, he conceived the desire to benefit the area of Aclare. His first steps in that direction took the form of acquiring a playing field for the area. With this he achieved only limited success and was dissatisfied in that he felt the persons in effective control of the playing field were not adequately answerable for the way in which it was used. He therefore believed that any future ventures should be undertaking through some statutory body which would be answerable for the proper management of any enterprise to which he might subscribe. He contacted the Sligo County Council and was referred to the Sligo County Development Team and in particular to Mr. Terence Byrne who was County Development Officer for Sligo County. Through the co-operation of various people and bodies Fr. McGuinness was able to achieve his ambition by being in part instrumental in the building of a factory in Aclare. The construction of the factory cost £83,000 and Fr. McGuinness contributed £25,000 towards that objective. The County Council was authorised to accept the contribution from Fr. McGuinness towards that objective by virtue of the Local Authorities (Acceptance of Gifts) Act 1945 and it, the County Council, passed a resolution on the 23rd of June, 1984 creating the Aclare (Fr. Stephen McGuinness) Civic Improvements Scheme. The contribution made by Fr. McGuinness, £25,000, was paid into that fund in November 1984.

10 That concluded this transaction and Fr. McGuinness then turned his attention to further benefiting the community and approved of the suggestion which was made to him that an Urban Renewal Scheme for the village of Aclare should be carried out and he enthusiastically agreed to make available further funds towards such a scheme. The significance of his contribution was that with his agreement to make available these funds, the County Council could seek the support of other individuals and bodies so as to finance the project. Without such a committment by Fr. McGuinness the Urban renewal of Aclare, no matter how desireable, would have been low in the County Council's list of priorities.

11 In furtherance of the Urban Renewal Scheme an expert was commissioned, at the expense of the County Council, to prepare plans for the redevelopment of Aclare and these were approved, not only by the residents of Aclare, but also Fr. McGuinness. The County Council set about the implementation of these plans. This involved the acquisition of certain derelict buildings. It also involved the acquisition of a licensed premises for the purpose of conversion into a community centre. The significance of this acquisition was that such an acquisition was not immediately capable of finance from any of the recognised funds available to the County Council and it made this acquisition on the assumption that Fr. McGuinness's funds would be available to meet the cost.

12 In the months of January/February 1986 Fr. McGuinness took up residence in Nazareth House in Sligo and he then took the appropriate steps to realise funds by the sale of his shares to finance the project and in July 1986 he was in a position to lodge the money in the Sligo branch of the A.I.B.

13 On the 2nd of September 1986 arrangements were made for Fr. McGuinness and Mr. Paul Byrne, the then County Manager for the County of Sligo, to attend at the offices of the Allied Irish Banks Plc. at 26 Stephen Street, Sligo and they there met with Ms. Concepta Cuddy, the Manager's secretary, where they executed a mandate to the Bank and opened a joint deposit account in the names of Fr. Patrick Stephen McGuinness and the Sligo County Council. The terms of that mandate are of Importance and it reads:

"We Reverend Fr. Patrick Stephen McGuinness and Sligo County Council hereby request and authorise you:-"

(1) To...