Solicitor in court over claims of dummy contracts

A SOLICITOR has appeared before the Commercial Court over claims that he recently told another lawyer he would be paid €150,000 to get involved in a “dummy” contract, never to be performed, for an onward sale of 33 acres in Co Offaly.

The site is at the centre of an alleged land deal “scam” allegedly driven by former Fianna Fáil councillor Gerard Killally over which he and others are being sued by several investors for some €10 million.

The investors claim Mr Killally was behind a scheme under which 33 acres at Mount Lucas, Daingean, were sold to them for €10.6 million in May 2007 when, on the same day but unknown to them, Mr Killally bought the lands for €4.7 million via a company.

In deciding to get involved in the deal, the investors claim they relied on representations by Mr Killally and others that there was €4.5 million in unconditional contracts for onward sale of a number of sites on the lands, thereby reducing their exposure. Some of them have provided guarantees over a €6.3 million loan provided by the Educational Building Society to help acquire the lands.

The alleged sell-on contracts have not been performed and the investors argue they were bogus.

Solicitor Jeremy Doyle, a partner in Doyle Hanlon solicitors, Mountjoy Square, Dublin, appeared briefly yesterday before Mr Justice Michael Peart, who said he was entitled to an opportunity to produce his file related to the allegations against him concerning alleged sell-on contracts.

Mr Doyle said he was working from memory and had had no opportunity to deal properly with the allegations. He will appear again this morning to address the issues.

The allegations concerning Mr Doyle were made by Liam Miller, solicitor for Burke & Co, Drimnagh Road, Walkinstown, Dublin, one of the defendants in the case.

Earlier yesterday, Mark Connaughton SC, for Burke & Co, said Doyle Hanlon solicitors had come up for consideration in relation to two contracts for sale on some of the Mount Lucas lands.

Mr Connaughton said Mr Miller had been verbally advised by Mr Doyle of that firm that when the contracts were entered into, there was no intention to fulfil them. He had subpoenaed Mr Doyle to attend court and asked him for a precis of his evidence.

It appeared Mr Doyle and his partner Graham Hanlon were parties to the contract, in one instance apparently acting for themselves and in the second instance acting for two other purchasers, Mr Connaughton added.

Ronan Murphy SC, for the investors, said this information “changes things very considerably”. The only inference from what had happened was that Mr Killally, as “motor” of the scheme, and others, including solicitors, had conspired together to commit at least part of the fraud on his clients.

The promised contracts to sell on some of these lands, on which his clients relied, were bogus and were intended at the time to be bogus, Mr Murphy added. It could not be disputed his clients were defrauded and the manner in which that occurred was of profound importance.

Mr Murphy said Mr Connaughton had said Burke & Co were not aware of the intention that the sell- on contracts would not be fulfilled.

It was clear, he added, that Burke & Co had suspected there was a fraud in relation to the sales on part of the deal.

After discussions with both counsel, Mr Justice Peart agreed Mr Doyle should give evidence to the court as soon as possible. He appeared in court at 2pm and is expected to give evidence today.