A woman is unable to sell her house because, unknown to her, a €40,000 judgment was entered against her due to her solicitor’s “woeful neglect” and “reprehensible” failure to process her personal injuries case, the High Court heard.
Angela Farrell, a solicitor practising at North Great George’s Street, Dublin, was yesterday struck off for professional misconduct arising from failing to protect the interests of Dymphna O’Callaghan, Sixmilebridge, Co Clare.
When striking off Ms Farrell, the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, said her conduct “can only be described as disgraceful and unworthy of the profession to which she belongs”.
Ms O’Callaghan had retained Ms Farrell to bring a personal injuries case over a horse-riding accident in 1993 in which she sustained back injuries. Proceedings were brought in 1996, but it was not until 2008 that Ms Farrell informed Ms O’Callaghan that an offer to settle appeared to have been made by the defendants.
“Out of the blue”
Mr Justice Kearns said Ms O’Callaghan heard nothing further until December 2011, when she received a letter “out of the blue” from a solicitor for the defendants indicating a High Court judgment for €40,600 had been entered against her.
That judgment arose after the defendants, unknown to Ms O’Callaghan, successfully applied to strike out Ms O’Callaghan’s case for want of prosecution. The €40,600 legal costs of that application were awarded against Ms O’Callaghan, plus court interest, and judgment for those costs was later entered against her.
Discharged
When she tried to sell her house, she was unable to do so until the judgment was discharged, the judge said.
Ms O’Callaghan retained a new solicitor in Limerick and a complaint was made to the Law Society against Ms Farrell, who did not attend yesterday’s hearing.
The judge said, from her attendance in court on Monday, Ms Farrell was aware of yesterday’s hearing.
Mary Fenlon, solicitor in the Law Society’s regulation department, said a disciplinary hearing found Ms Farrell guilty of eight charges relating to Ms O’Callaghan, including failing to protect her interests and to hand over files in the case to another solicitor.
Unfortunately, Ms O’Callaghan could not avail of the society’s compensation fund because the solicitor’s misconduct was a case of “woeful neglect” rather than dishonesty.
The judge ordered Ms Farrell be struck off and pay €40,600 restitution to Ms O’Callaghan and costs of the Law Society application.