Charles Russell Speechlys successfully defends Super Fast Trading Limited against Bank of Ireland's summary judgment application

On 11 April 2025, the High Court refused the Bank of Ireland’s application for summary judgment against our client, Super Fast Trading Limited.

Charles Russell Speechlys is representing STFL, an assignee of claims from a property development business in liquidation, in relation to historic alleged frauds committed by the Bank, which allegedly resulted in losses of at least £60 million.

The Bank applied for summary judgment (or alternatively to have the claim struck out) on the basis of limitation. STFL accepted that over six years had elapsed between the alleged frauds and the issuing of the Claim Form, but relied on the exception under section 32(1)(a) of the Limitation Act 1980, on the basis that the alleged frauds had been concealed from the director of the property development business and he could not, with reasonable diligence, have discovered them.

Dame Clare Moulder DBE, sitting as a Judge of the High Court, in deciding to refuse the application, found there was a real prospect that STFL will be able to establish at trial that the director could not have discovered the alleged fraud without exceptional measures, which he could not reasonably have been expected to take in the intervening period.

Caroline Greenwell, Lead Partner, comments:

This is an important decision in the context of limitation in fraud cases and consolidates recent decisions such as those in OT Computers [2021] and ERED v Treon [2021]. We welcome the clarity of Dame Clare Moulder’s judgment on this issue and we look forward to our continued representation of our client on the case.

The Charles Russell Speechlys team was led by Caroline Greenwell, Partner, and Senior Associate Joseph Evans, and supported by Peter Carlyon, Associate, Ellie Yusuf-Osman, Associate, and Rebecca Hollinshead, Trainee Solicitor.

The Counsel team comprised Fenner Moeran KC and Benjamin Slingo.