A legal action against a solicitor over her alleged failure to advise two businessmen of the true nature and circumstances surrounding certain land deals in Co Offaly where secret profits were made has been settled and struck out at the Commercial Court.
The defendant solicitor, Miriam Kavanagh, had alleged it was former Fianna Fáil councillor Gerard Killally who was the wrongdoer and he was joined as a third party to the case on that basis earlier this year. The third-party issue was also settled today and struck out by Mr Justice Peter Kelly.
Declan Guing, of Carrick Road, Edenderry, and Frank Lawlor, Clonmullen Lodge, Edenderry, had brought their action against Ms Kavanagh, practising as Miriam Kavanagh & Company, Jamestown, Ballybrittas, Co Laois, for alleged negligence, breach of duty, breach of contract, and misrepresenation arising from a number of land transactions.
In their claim, both men alleged they formed a partnership in 2005 (the Daingean road partnership) with Mr Kilally and former Co Offfaly GAA football manager Richie Connor, then practising as auctioneers, to acquire and deal in lands at Cappincur, Tullamore.
They claimed they understood the lands were to be acquired by the partnership for €6.5 million from another party.
Mr Guing and Mr Lawlor claimed Mr Killaly and Mr Connor failed to disclose they had an interest in the Daingean Road transaction in that the other party had received €5 million for the lands. They claimed this meant Mr Killally and Mr Connor made a secret profit of an apparent €1.5 million, the partnership paid an inflated price for the lands and Ms Kavanagh knew of the circumstances but did not advise them of that.
They further claimed Mr Killally and Mr Connor also had an interest in another transaction involving another partnerhsip between all four men, the Downshire partnership, formed in 2005 to acquire and deal in lands at Downshire, Edenderry.
They claimed they understood the Downshire lands were to be acquired for €11.5 million from another party but Mr Killally and Mr Connor failed to disclose that party had received €9.5 million for the lands, meaning secret profits of an apparent €2 million. Ms Kavanagh, they alleged, knew of the circumstances but had not advised the plaintiffs.
Ms Kavanagh had denied the claims and also previously rejected as “baseless” a claim by Mr Killally she advised him it was “okay” not to disclose he had made secret profits. She claimed she told him what he was doing was “wrong, immoral and constituted sharp practice”.
As Mr Killally and Mr Connor admitted making secret profits relating to the Downshire and Daingean Road deals, Mr Justice Kelly previously ruled the former partners were entitled to judgment against both men over those deals. Mr Killally was adjudicated a bankrupt last year.
