Weekly Judgment Roundup 14 June 2013

There were 110 cash strapped Irish debtors pursued in the courts this week for unpaid debts totalling €6.5m. This represents a 19% decrease in volume and a 30% increase in overall judgment value for the same period last year.

Nearly 80% of the judgments were against Irish consumers and 20% against businesses or limited companies.

The average debt value was €58,000 and the highest value was for €3.7m awarded in favour of Bank of Scotland.

Credit Unions registered 15 judgments for unpaid debts of €183,000; a 68% increase in the value of bad debts owed to CU for same period last year and a 36% increase in the number of judgments registered by the CU’s.  Nearly half of these judgments were partially paid by their members. This may support the anecdotal evidence out there that debtors are prioritising unsecured debts over secured debts.

The Collector General obtained judgments in 37 cases, a 29% increase on same period last year. Overall, the total amount of unpaid debts owed to the Revenue exceeded €1.6m, a 25% increase for same period last year.

Two Wexford “Architects” were held jointly and severally liable for a debt of €175,000 owed to the Revenue; and a Carlow Publican was also sued by the Revenue for €68,000.