The High Court refused an application by Patrick Roche to set aside an order requiring solicitors holding funds for him to pay money towards a judgment debt owed to William Hackett, trading as William Hackett and Company Solicitors. The court amended the order to account for €4,381.50 in costs payable to Hackett from the settlement of Roche’s personal injuries action.
The dispute began after Hackett sued Roche for unpaid fees in several matters. The Circuit Court gave judgment for Hackett in 2004 for €15,506.63, plus costs and interest. In 2009, after Roche’s personal injuries action settled, Hackett sought a garnishee order against funds held by O’Rourke Reid, the solicitors acting for Roche in that action. A conditional order was made in February 2009 and made absolute in December 2010, in Roche’s absence.
Roche applied to set aside the absolute order, arguing, among other things, that he had been unable to attend because of ill health and that Hackett had failed to disclose costs due from the personal injuries settlement. Roche alleged that the omission could result in double recovery and amounted to fraud. These were his claims; the High Court did not find fraud.
The judgment records that €4,381.50 in costs was payable to Hackett through the solicitors. Hackett’s counsel said Roche would receive credit for that sum. The judge said it would have been better to disclose the costs earlier, but found no basis to conclude that fraud had occurred. He treated the failure to mention the payment as, at worst, an error of judgment or departure from best practice, and found it did not justify setting aside the garnishee order.
The judge also rejected Roche’s arguments about his address and identity, the unsuccessful attempt to register a judgment mortgage, and his health. He said the address issue did not provide a ground to challenge the order, accepted that no judgment mortgage had been registered, and maintained that the medical material did not warrant further adjournment.
The court nevertheless amended the payment terms to make clear that credit must be given for the costs. It ordered payment of €11,122.13 for judgment debt and costs, with interest at 8% a year on €15,502.63 from 18 February 2009 to 16 August 2010, and on €11,122.13 from 16 August 2010 until payment, plus the costs of the garnishee proceedings when taxed. The judge said the amendment reflected his intention that credit be given for the costs. He refused the other relief sought.