The Court of Appeal allowed solicitor Mary Dorgan’s appeal against a High Court order referring her €120,855 bill to taxation, ruling that her former client Susan Spillane’s application under section 2 of the Attorneys and Solicitors (Ireland) Act 1849 was out of time.
The judgment, delivered by Ms Justice Irvine on 14 March 2016, concerned legal fees for Ms Dorgan’s work in two matrimonial proceedings brought by Ms Spillane’s husband in the Circuit Court. The proceedings ended in a written settlement in May 2007. It provided, among other terms, for Ms Spillane to receive the family home in Youghal, €1 million within five years, substantial monthly maintenance until that payment, and a further €125,000 within three months.
Ms Dorgan sent her bill on 12 November 2007. It included her own fee of €55,000 plus VAT, outlays and other professional fees. She said she had deducted fees from the €125,000 held in her client account under the settlement and enclosed a cheque for €4,145.60. Ms Spillane did not object at the time. In 2012 she sought taxation, saying the bill was not valid and asserting that she might be due a refund of about €30,000.
The High Court had ordered taxation, finding that the bill did not follow the format in the Rules of the Superior Courts and that time had not begun to run. On appeal, the Court of Appeal held that the bill met the requirements of section 68(6) of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994. It ruled that the statutory 12-month period began when that valid bill was delivered; the court rules’ seven-column format for bills lodged for taxation did not determine the bill’s validity for that purpose.
The appeal court also rejected Ms Dorgan’s argument that the claim was barred by a separate six-year limitation period. It considered whether the court should refer the bill to taxation under its inherent jurisdiction, but concluded that the circumstances did not support doing so. It noted that Ms Spillane had not disputed the bill when received, had not objected to the deduction, and waited almost five years to complain. The court also observed that her assertion of a possible €30,000 rebate was unsupported by evidence from a solicitor or costs accountant.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, reversing the High Court’s order for taxation. It did not determine what the bill would have been if taxed; its decision was that the application under section 2 was time-barred and that inherent jurisdiction did not justify a referral.