The High Court has dismissed cattle dealer Finbar Tolan’s claim against his former solicitor, John Brady, over the handling of an earlier case against Connacht Gold. The court found that a proposed claim for malicious falsehood against the mart operator would have failed, and accepted that Mr Tolan had instructed his solicitor not to pursue it in 2014.
Mr Tolan alleged that a manager at Balla Mart told farmers on 11 August 2012 not to mention him and that he was “finished” at the mart. He said the remarks damaged his business. His claim against Mr Brady was that the solicitor failed to act on counsel’s advice to explore adding a malicious falsehood claim to the earlier proceedings.
Justice Alexander Owens gave three reasons for dismissing the claim. First, he found the alleged statements were not false in the circumstances. Mr Tolan was refusing to pay Connacht Gold for cattle he had bought on credit, including by stopping a €18,700 cheque, after the company would not let him continue buying on credit. The judge said the mart was entitled to protect its interests and that Mr Tolan’s remedy, if the credit decision breached an agreement, was to seek damages rather than withhold payment.
Second, the judge accepted Mr Brady’s evidence that, at a meeting on 11 February 2014, Mr Tolan rejected an amendment that would delay the trial. The judge found Mr Tolan wanted the case to proceed on its scheduled date and was unwilling to adjourn it to address the proposed claim. The earlier trial date was vacated two days later after Connacht Gold raised concerns about an unvouched €6,547,376 loss claim and readiness for hearing. The proposed amendment was not revisited before the earlier case went to trial in May 2015, when the President of the High Court dismissed Mr Tolan’s claim against Connacht Gold.
Third, Justice Owens found the evidence did not establish a realistic prospect that Mr Tolan could have proved the alleged remarks were malicious, that his business was solvent, or that the remarks caused the losses claimed. Two farmers’ accounts of the alleged remarks were not given in evidence at this trial. The judge also noted that Mr Tolan continued buying cattle from other marts and selling to Dawn Meats after August 2012, and found his evidence about other marts withdrawing credit insufficient.
The judge said that even if Mr Brady had breached his duty by not exploring the proposed claim, only nominal damages of €0.01 would have been appropriate. He described the solicitor claim as lacking merit and dismissed it. His preliminary view is that the defendants should receive the costs, including reserved costs. Either party may make a contrary submission within 21 days of delivery; if one is made, the court will arrange an oral hearing on costs.