The High Court has refused an appeal by three people against a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal decision that there was no prima facie case of misconduct by solicitor Jean Connors.
Mr Justice Meenan delivered the judgment on 6 March 2020. He confirmed the Tribunal’s decision of 2 August 2019, finding that the evidence did not support the misconduct allegations. The appeal therefore did not result in an inquiry by the Tribunal.
The appellants had complained that Connors, an adult child of Frances Kinsella, had taken up the role of administrator of her late mother’s estate without notifying beneficiaries, failed to respond to their instructions, and brought a lawsuit against their brother without evidence. In their appeal affidavit, they also alleged that she filed a false and vexatious claim, obtained the administrator position illegally, was seeking to change her status to legal personal representative, and was trying to claim the house as her own. These were allegations, not findings by the High Court.
The judge said the complaints should be resolved through civil proceedings. He said Connors was entitled under the Rules of the Superior Courts to apply for a grant of letters of administration as an adult child of the deceased. The appellants could have applied for a grant themselves or sought to revoke the grant, but had not done so, he said.
The judgment also addressed separate proceedings brought by Connors against Daniel Kinsella and others. An application to strike out or dismiss that case as frivolous, vexatious or an abuse of process had been refused by Mr Justice Simons on 21 June 2019. That earlier ruling was not the outcome of the disciplinary appeal.
The High Court’s order was to refuse the appeal and confirm the Tribunal’s finding that no prima facie case of misconduct had been established. It did not determine the underlying estate or civil disputes.