Dublin lawyer to bring test case over tracker mortgage scandal

Dublin lawyer Niall Kiernan is planning to bring a tracker mortgage scandal test case to the High Court next year, The Irish Times reports.

Mr Kiernan, of Lawlor Partners, told the paper that he has spoken to “dozens” of customers who are unsatisfied with the level of redress and compensation offered to them.

He said a test case is the “most prudent” way to judge the attitude of the courts and whether the bank in question is willing to settle or fight.

Criticising the amount of compensation on offer, Mr Kiernan said: “When a contract is breached, it affects different people in different ways. Everyone’s loss is subjective to themselves.

“I have clients who would have had a third child and didn’t, or upgraded their house, or couldn’t afford to send their kids to private school, or to go on family holidays or buy a new car.”

He pointed out that customers who have already accepted compensation and redress can still take a case against their bank.

It is anticipated the final number of customers adversely affected by the scandal will reach as high as 30,000. A number of law firms, including Coleman Legal and McHale Muldoon, are considering litigation.