People (Attorney General) v A

JurisdictionIreland
Judgment Date01 January 1941
Date01 January 1941
CourtCircuit Court
(Cir. Ct.),
The People (Attorney-General)
and
A

Solicitor receiving money on behalf of client - Unascertained claim by solicitor for unpaid costs - Right to set-off - Net amount of balance due to client by solicitor not ascertained - Solicitor not asked by client to account - Request by third party for account - Failure to comply not sufficient to constitute evidence of conversion - Larceny Act, 1916, s. 20 (1) (iv).

The accused, who was the solicitor having carriage of the sale of a house on behalf of a client, received from a solicitor who had previously acted for the vendor a sum of £83 4s. 0d. being part payment of the purchase-money of the said house, and lodged this sum with his bankers to the credit of his No. 1 current account. The accused had permission from his bankers to overdraw this account up to £900, as security for which he had deposited with them the title deeds of certain premises, and at the date of the said lodgment the account was overdrawn to the extent of £885 14s. 6d. Shortly afterwards, while the said sum of £83 4s. 0d. was still standing to his No. 1 account, the accused on several occasions made further drawings thereby increasing his overdraft to more than the permitted figure of £900, and for some months the overdraft stood at the sum of £923 odd. At this time the accused also had with the same bankers a No. 2 current account, which was overdrawn, and a No. 3 current account, which was in credit. In the meantime the client approached another firm of solicitors with the request that they should complete the sale of her house, and they formally demanded payment of the sum of £83 4s. 0d. from the accused. The latter claimed that he was entitled to deduct from this sum the amount, then unascertained, of the costs due to him both in respect of his work relative to the sale and otherwise and...

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1 cases
  • People (Attorney General) v Heald
    • Ireland
    • Court of Criminal Appeal
    • January 1, 1954
    ...8 Cox Cr. Cas 29. (3) 2 Q. B. D. 141. (4) 71 J. P. 191. (5) 2 Cr. Cas. Res. 28. (6) [1913] 2 K. B. 421. (7) [1909] 2 K. B. 980. (8) [1941] Ir. Jur. Rep. 55. (1) [1930] I. R. ...

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