The High Court has dismissed horse trainer Margaret Flynn’s claim that her solicitor was negligent in advising her on two land transactions and a bank loan. Mr Justice McDermott found that the solicitor’s advice about the financial risks was sufficient and clear, and that Ms Flynn chose to proceed with the purchase despite those risks.
The dispute concerned the proposed sale of Ms Flynn’s Stradbally lands to property developer Denis Lehane and her 2008 purchase of 60.93 acres known as the Knox lands. She agreed to sell the Stradbally property for €3 million in 2006, but completion was repeatedly delayed. The buyer’s planned resale to Blackwater Homes was linked to planning permission, which was refused in 2008; an appeal was also rejected. Mr Lehane did not complete the purchase.
Ms Flynn borrowed €1.569 million from ACC Bank to buy the Knox lands. The loan was secured on both properties and was to be repaid from the Stradbally sale proceeds. After the buyer failed to complete, ACC obtained judgment for €1.9 million under a settlement in 2012. Receivers were appointed over the Stradbally lands, and Ms Flynn later agreed to vacate the property.
Ms Flynn alleged her solicitor, Niall Patrick King, practising as J. F. Williams & Company, failed to investigate the buyer’s ability to complete and did not adequately warn her about the risks of the loan and purchase. King’s firm said it had warned her. The judge accepted evidence that notes made in July and November 2007 recorded advice against proceeding before the Stradbally sale was completed, and warnings about the consequences if it did not complete. The judge also found that Ms Flynn received clear advice from solicitor Roisin Hickey in January 2008 about ACC’s ability to sell charged property if the loan was not repaid.
The judge found that Ms Flynn understood she had no other funds to complete the Knox purchase or repay the loan if the Stradbally sale failed. Her confidence in the buyer’s ability to complete was misplaced, but the court was not satisfied that this resulted from a failure by the solicitors to advise her adequately. It also found no professional obligation in the circumstances to inquire into the buyer’s financial capacity after the sale contract had been signed.
The court concluded that the solicitors were not in breach of their duty of care in advising Ms Flynn on the transactions or the loan, and were not required to make further inquiries about the buyer’s ability to complete. It dismissed her claim.