The High Court has struck out proceedings against the Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Ireland and the Attorney General, ruling that the plaintiff’s pleadings disclosed no reasonable cause of action against them.
Mr Justice Michael Peart made the order on 20 February 2014, on a motion brought by those three defendants. They had argued that the plaintiff made no claim or sought no relief against them, and alternatively asked the court to strike out the proceedings as disclosing no reasonable cause of action or as frivolous or vexatious.
The case arose from a long-running land dispute litigated between Patrick Clohessy and his father, Peter Clohessy, from 2001. Peter Clohessy, who is now deceased, had been represented by solicitors employed by the Legal Aid Board, which issued a legal aid certificate.
Patrick Clohessy’s statement of claim alleged, among other things, that the Board had failed to properly assess his father’s claims and financial means when granting legal aid. It also alleged that the Board had pursued litigation based on unfounded, misleading and fraudulent facts. These were allegations in the pleadings, not findings made in this judgment.
The judge noted that the statement of claim contained no allegation against the minister, Ireland or the Attorney General and sought no specific relief from them. The plaintiff’s position, as described in the judgment, was that the Board was ultimately controlled by the minister and that the minister should therefore be liable for the Board’s actions.
The court referred to the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995. It noted that the minister could issue general policy directions to the Board, but that the Act also provided that the minister could not exercise power or control in any particular case. The Board was a separate body corporate with power to sue and be sued.
Justice Peart concluded that the three applicants should not have to remain in the case when no claim was made or relief sought against them. He struck out the proceedings against those three defendants on the basis that the pleadings disclosed no reasonable cause of action.
The order concerned only the claims against the minister, Ireland and the Attorney General. The judgment does not determine the claims against the other defendants or make findings on the underlying land dispute or the allegations against the Legal Aid Board.