The High Court has allowed Doran W. O’Toole & Co to come off record as solicitor for Scotchstone Capital Fund Ltd in its constitutional challenge to provisions of the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act 2010.
In a judgment delivered on 7 June 2023, Ms Justice Eileen Roberts said the Court of Appeal’s decision in related Scotchstone proceedings was binding and adopted its reasoning. The order concerns the company’s legal representation in these proceedings; it does not determine the constitutional challenge itself.
The proceedings began in 2013. The first two plaintiffs settled their claims, leaving Piotr Skoczylas and Scotchstone as the remaining plaintiffs. Skoczylas is a director of the company, but the court said he could not represent it because he is not an Irish solicitor. The company therefore requires solicitor representation in the case.
O’Toole’s firm filed a notice of change of solicitor for the company in October 2022 and shortly afterwards said it intended to withdraw. Its motion to come off record was heard by the High Court on 15 March 2023. The judge noted disputes about what information Skoczylas had provided, whether the parties had agreed to a “no foal no fee” arrangement, whether anti-money-laundering documents had been supplied, and whether Skoczylas had agreed that the firm could withdraw. The court did not resolve those disputes.
The Court of Appeal had found that the solicitor-client relationship had irretrievably broken down and that O’Toole could not be required to act in a technical or limited capacity while concerned about his professional obligations. It also considered the company’s claimed lack of funds, its unsuccessful legal-aid application and the possible prejudice if it lacked representation. The High Court said those matters did not justify departing from the binding appeal decision.
Justice Roberts noted that the company’s trial submissions had already been filed and that Skoczylas remained free to seek another solicitor. She granted the application for O’Toole to come off record. The parties were directed to file written submissions on the costs of the withdrawal application within 28 days of receiving the judgment.