Mr. Paul Joyce:

The Court of Appeal made a decision in respect of Mars Capital, which sought to have an omnibus order made where it could be substituted as the plaintiff lender in a large number of cases. In other words, it was seeking to take the place of the bank from which it bought the loans. The court refused this and stated that it had to be done on a case-by-case basis. What it involves is a motion on notice to the other side to be substituted, as in this case, in the repossession proceedings. As Mr. Hall indicated, it is sometimes very confusing for the borrower. Part of the problem we, as an organisation that campaigns to improve civil legal aid services, see is that people do not have access to legal aid from the Legal Aid Board law centres to defend their position. If the affidavit does not contain adequate information, to whom will the borrower go to represent him or her or defend his or her interests?