Lismore Buildings Ltd v Bank of Ireland Finance Ltd (No 2)

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Barrington, J.
• Judgment Date: 28 January 2000
• Neutral Citation: [2000] IESC 2
• Docket Number: [S.C. No. 123 of 1992]
• Court: Supreme Court
• Date: 28 January 2000

[2000] IESC 2

THE SUPREME COURT

Hamilton C.J.,

Barrington J,

Barron J.

123/92

Rec. No. 1990

No. 5939p

LISMORE BUILDINGS LTD v. BANK OF IRELAND FINANCE LIMITED

Between:

LISMORE BUILDINGS LTD (IN RECEIVERSHIP)

Plaintiff/Appellant

and

BANK OF IRELAND FINANCE LIMITED, DELOITTE HASKINS andSELLS, BRENDAN MERRY and PARTNERS, P.D. GUNNE (DUBLIN) LIMITED andBERNARD SOMERS

Defendants/Respondents

IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 3 OFTHE LEGAL PRACTITIONERS (IRELAND) ACT, 1876

and

COMMON LAW

Citations:

LEGAL PRACTITIONERS (IRL) ACT 1876 S3

Synopsis

Commercial Law

Commercial; company; taxation of costs; plaintiff insolvent; whether plaintiff's solicitor is entitled to a Charging Order so as to secure costs awarded to the plaintiff by the High Court; s.3, Legal Practitioners (Ireland) Act, 1876.

Held: Order granted.

Lismore Buildings Limited v. Bank of Ireland Finance Limited - Supreme Court: Hamilton C.J., Barrington J., Barron J. - 28/01/2000 - [2000] 2 IR 316

The applicant had acted as the plaintiff's solicitor. The plaintiff was a building company which had been placed in receivership. The plaintiff had orders for costs made in favour of it against the first two defendants and orders of costs made against it in favour of the third, fourth and fifth defendants. The plaintiff's solicitor sought a charging order in respect of the property of the plaintiff by virtue of section 3 of the Legal Practitioners Act, 1876. The Supreme Court held the application was properly made and the solicitor was entitled to a charging order in respect of the monies due and owing to it by the plaintiff under the orders of costs relating to the first and second defendants.

1 JUDGMENT of Barrington, J.delivered on the 28th day of January, 2000. [NEMDISS]

2 This is an application brought by the Plaintiffs pursuant to Section 3 of the Legal Practitioners (Ireland) Act, 1876 and common law.

3 Notice of the application has been given to all five Defendants. For ease of reference I shall refer to the first Defendant as "TheBank", to the second Defendant as "TheAccountants", to the third Defendants as "TheQuantity Surveyors", to the fourth Defendants as "The Auctioneers" and to the fifth Defendant as "The Receiver".

4 The application refers to five Orders for Costs made by this Court on the 11th day of February, 1998. These five Orders related to five appeals against five Orders relating to security for costs made by the High Court (Mr. Justice Keane) on the 2nd day of March, 1992.

5 In the first of the said Orders this Court made an Order for Costs in favour of the Plaintiff against the Bank. In the second of the said Orders this Court made an Order for Costs in favour of the Plaintiff against the Accountants. In the third of the said Orders this Court made an Order in favourof the Quantity Surveyors against the Plaintiff. In the fourth of the said Orders this Court made an Order for Costs in favour of the Auctioneers against the Plaintiff and in the fifth of the said Appeals this Court made an Order for Costs in favour of the Receiver against thePlaintiff.

6 The present application is brought by the Plaintiff's Solicitor to secure the costs awarded to the Plaintiff by the first and second of the said Orders of this Court. It is common place that the Plaintiff Company is, at present, insolvent so that the Plaintiff's Solicitor claims that if he does not recover his costs out of the taxed costs awarded to the Plaintiff by the said first and second Orders of this Court he would have difficulty in recovering them.

7 The Plaintiff's Solicitor avers that the Quantity Surveyors and the Auctioneers have intimated their intention to...