Money owed to James Murphy Structural Engineers by the ESB should not have been handled by Mr James Gogarty's solicitor, Mr Gerard Sheedy, the planning tribunal was told yesterday.
Mr Garrett Cooney SC, for the Murphy group, said JMSE was not a client of Mr Sheedy's firm, McCann FitzGerald, and consequently Mr Sheedy should not have lodged a £700,000 cheque from the ESB to JMSE in a bank account with Banque Nationale de Paris in Dublin.
The cheque for £700,000 was for services carried out by the company at Moneypoint power station in Co Clare.
Mr Sheedy lodged the money after taking instructions from Mr Gogarty who said a deal had been concluded with JMSE that he receive 50 per cent commission on the ESB payment as part of a pension settlement with the company.
"When the money was demanded back by a director and financial controller of JMSE, why didn't you give it back?" asked Mr Cooney.
Mr Sheedy replied: "Because Mr Gogarty had claimed a lien over those funds personally".
"But it wasn't Mr Gogarty's money, it belonged to your client, JMSE, isn't that right?" asked Mr Cooney.
"That's correct," replied Mr Sheedy.
"Why didn't you return it to them?" asked Mr Cooney.
"Because my instructions were not to do so," said Mr Sheedy. "From whom?" asked Mr Cooney.
"Mr Gogarty," replied Mr Sheedy.
Mr Sheedy said it was normal to represent a company when one of its "agents" instructed the law firm. He said Mr Gogarty was acting as an "agent" in the case of the ESB payment.
However, Mr Cooney questioned this further: "I put it to you that your claim that JMSE was a client of McCann FitzGerald is a fiction on your part to explain away utterly unprofessional conduct on your part". "It is absolutely incorrect for you to make such a statement," Mr Sheedy replied.
At this stage Mr Justice Flood intervened and said, "We are not attributing blame, responsibility or anything else, so we may pass from the subject".
Mr Cooney asked Mr Sheedy if he was aware a complaint had been made to the Law Society concerning his handling of the dispute over the ESB payment. Mr Sheedy said he was not aware at the time, but later found out that a complaint had been made.
The first hour of the tribunal was taken up with disputes between the legal teams. Most of this occurred when Mr Cooney was accused of "infringing" on confidentiality between solicitors and their clients.