The Court of Appeal has dismissed Brian Egan’s appeal against an order striking out his negligence claim against his former solicitors, finding that prolonged, unexplained delay and the former solicitor’s inability to give reliable evidence weighed strongly against allowing the case to proceed.
The dispute concerned the 2004 purchase of the Alpha Centre, a building of seven commercial units beside Egan’s fuel station in Dunmore, County Galway. Egan alleged that boundary and planning problems affected the property’s title and marketability. The court noted that part of the building appeared to lie outside the Land Registry maps, on land that appeared unregistered. The judgment said Egan’s claim that this was a serious title defect had not been explained, including why first registration could not address it.
The judgment recounts that a planning consultant advised Egan in March 2004 that the existing building differed from the plans for which permission had been granted. The purchase closed in September 2004. Egan later alleged that an offer of €1.8 million to buy the property fell through because of title and planning difficulties. The judgment noted that his account placed the failed sale in 2010 in his claim, but in 2008 during the appeal and in an accountant’s report. The court considered that he knew of the difficulties by 2008 at the latest.
Egan issued proceedings in February 2014. The solicitors’ firm sought dismissal mainly on grounds of delay. The High Court granted the application in 2021, finding the delay in prosecuting the case inordinate and inexcusable and concluding that the former solicitor’s condition caused serious prejudice to the defence.
The Court of Appeal accepted that the firm contributed to delay early in the case, including by taking months to accept service and deliver its defence. But it found that Egan had not shown appropriate steps to progress the proceedings after the defence was delivered in March 2015. In particular, it found nearly three years of inactivity after his solicitors came on record in March 2016 was unexplained. The court said the case required supportive expert evidence and clearer pleadings, but the claim remained unparticularised.
The court also found that the central questions depended on oral evidence about what advice the former solicitor gave Egan and what maps or other material he received. Medical evidence before the court said the former solicitor was not fit to attend court or give reliable evidence. The Court of Appeal said the delay had contributed to that inability and that there was a real risk a fair trial could no longer be held.
The appeal was dismissed, leaving the High Court’s dismissal of the proceedings against the firm in place. The Court of Appeal’s provisional view was that the firm should receive its appeal costs, subject to Egan’s right to submit an alternative costs proposal within 14 days. The judgment does not state the final costs order.