The High Court has given judgment of US$372,000 against an Irish souvenir manufacturer over a payment advanced to him by his brothers so he could fulfil a lucrative US order.
QVC’s order for 67,000 units was not completed. The court was satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that Philip Gaffney had lost the order or had to relinquish it due to not passing all the required tests and/or not being able to fulfil the order by mid-March 2016. Alan Gaffney stated that the sum of $372,043.70 comprised $100,000 from him, with a similar amount contributed by Derek Gaffney, and, in addition, he had drawn down a line of credit secured against his family home for the remainder, said the judge.
However, an email sent by Philip Gaffney to Alan Gaffney in March 2016 makes it “crystal clear” he regarded the contract as referring to a loan from Alan Gaffney. The court was satisfied from the evidence that the agreement was for a short-term loan on “extremely favourable terms” for the plaintiffs.
Noting the relative economic strength of the plaintiffs, the judge said the court was satisfied an alleged 15 per cent interest clause in the oral agreement represents an “unconscionable bargain and is therefore unenforceable”. The court declined to order its payment.