The High Court dismissed Bisi Adigun’s claim against solicitors Linda McEvoy and Patrick Moran after deciding that they had acted for Arambe Productions Limited in a dispute over money owed to the company.
Mr Justice Hedigan gave the preliminary ruling on 23 July 2013. The issue was whether Adigun had standing to bring the proceedings personally, or whether the relevant dealings were conducted on behalf of Arambe, a company he established.
The judgment said the underlying dispute concerned royalties Arambe said it was due from the Abbey Theatre. The theatre had withheld payments from box office receipts after solicitors for Roddy Doyle raised an alleged copyright breach. The court distinguished that company dispute from any personal copyright dispute Adigun might have had with Doyle.
In considering who the solicitors’ client was, the judge examined the correspondence, retainer documents and payment arrangements. He noted that the agreement relied on for payment was between Arambe and the Abbey Theatre, and that Adigun had referred the solicitors’ terms of business to Arambe’s board. He later confirmed that the board accepted the terms. The solicitors’ retainer fee was paid by an Arambe cheque, and the firm’s letter ending the relationship was addressed to the company.
The judgment acknowledged that some references to the client were unclear, including an unsatisfactory and confusing terms-of-business letter. But, considering the dealings as a whole, the judge concluded that Arambe—not Adigun—had retained the solicitors. Adigun had no proprietary interest in the box office receipts, although the judgment noted he might have had a separate interest in being paid by the company.
Because the court found there had been no solicitor-client relationship between Adigun and the defendants, it ruled he had no locus standi to sue them. It said the company should have brought the proceedings and dismissed Adigun’s claim. The ruling resolved that preliminary issue and did not determine the merits of his complaints about the solicitors’ handling of the company’s dispute.