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Case Histories
Article from the Sunday Business Post of 19 July 1998 describing how our member Stoffel Vogelaar was first grossly overcharged by builder Danny Callaghan of Mulranny, Co. Mayo, and then taken to arbitration led by architect Padraig Murray of Stephen's Green, Dublin, who was as ruinously expensive as he was incompetent in legal matters (as later confirmed by both the High Court and the Supreme Court). Mr Vogelaar, faced with costs of some £200,000 won a High Court appeal, but Mr Murray ignored the judgment for almost a year. The rest of this incredible story can be read in the following judgments. High Court Judgment of Mr Justice Barron, 30 April 1996: Our member Stoffel Vogelaar has sent us a copy of the 1996 High Court judgment regarding his appeal of the 1994 arbitration case about the price of his house. This arbitration lasted 15 days (!) and was completely mishandled by barrister John Gibbons of Dublin, instructed by S F Hughes of Westport, Co. Mayo. Fortunately, in his judgment Justice Henry Barron concluded that the arbitration had in fact gone in favour of Mr Vogelaar, rather than his builder who started the case. However, looking at the eventual outcome of the case (see further below), after one more arbitration hearing, one more High Court hearing and one more Supreme Court hearing (which should all have been unnecessary), it should be clear to anybody that, despite the rule that the loser pays the winner's costs, this "victory" almost ruined Mr Vogelaar. Of course it did grossly benefit the lawyers and the arbitrator, who initially got away with simply ignoring Justice Barron's order, because he did not agree with it! As to the fee of this arbitrator (Padraig Murray, architect, of Stephen's Green, Dublin) Mr Vogelaar warns everybody to be extra vigilant in similar circumstances. At a rate of £507.50 per day (as stated in writing in 1994) Murray's total fee was £25,210.35 including VAT. This means that he worked more than 41 days to decide the price of a 4 bedroom bungalow!! There was no way of verifying this. His costs were added (also unverifiable) and brought the total to an unbelievable £28,935.32. All these items could not be legally disputed or brought before the taxing master. Murray also refused to disclose the calculations he used to arrive at his eventual decision, when Mr Vogelaar noted that on the basis of the figures produced in evidence the builder should have received much less than he actually got. Unfortunately, this incomprehensible practice is still quite legal. To add insult to injury Murray eventually charged another £1,597.00 to "correct" the gross mistake Justice Barron said he had made! Supreme Court of Ireland Decisions, 13 July 1998: Ex Tempore Judgment about a dispute our member Stoffel Vogelaar had with the builder Danny Callaghan. More details in the article below. Article from the Sunday Business Post, 12 January 2003: The difficulties (still unresolved) of one of our members with the insatiable financial demands of Mayo solicitors Seamus Hughes & Co. Feb 2006: His latest harrowing experiences and the unbelievable amounts of money involved in his 14 year long ordeal in the clutches of S F Hughes & Co are now summed up by our member Mr Stoffel Vogelaar on RateYourSolicitor.com We quote: "Now demanding an extra E138,000 or so and threatening to sell my house, all this in addition to about E40,000 they were already paid to amateurishly defend me against a builder who overcharged me by some E65,000 and took me to court. Add to that a total of some E92,000 already paid for "experts" (the main one S F Hughes's brother-in-law), barristers and arbitrator and it adds up to some E270,000 spent (and over 14 years wasted) to defend me against an initial claim of about E65,000 which in theory I won. Only VERY rich people who don't mind getting a whole a lot poorer can afford this kind of service. The original solicitor from hell, in my opinion!" 28/3/2006: Another person is having problems with Seamus F Hughes & Co. 31/8/2005: The experiences of a Sligo member with what started out as a simple Squatter's Rights case. 27/9/2005: Further developments in Elizabeth Shannon's case against her brother. 5/10/2005: A history of the litigation up to January 2005, showing judicial corruption that goes right to the top! Aug 2005: Our Public Relations Officer John Gill's own experiences in the Courts. 29/9/2005: A new sworn affidavit by John Gill detailing the wrongdoing of several of his solicitors. 10/10/2005: The latest developments in the John Gill v John O'Doherty case. 9/12/2005: John Gill is waiting for a Supreme Court Judgment in his case. 07/2/2006: John names and shames bad solicitors, judges, and more! 22/2/2006: John talks about corruption at the Circuit Court Office in Ennis. 04/3/2006: John will appear before the Courts this month for the 63rd time. 15/3/2006: A sworn affidavit by John describing the damage done to his property. 24/3/2006: John finally has success in his 63rd Court appearance! 11/6/2006: More details about John's property dispute and the solicitors involved. 25/11/2006: John's new Affidavit relating to his property dispute. 03/12/2006: Minutes of Attendance at Ennis Circuit Court and a brief history of the case. 16/12/2006: Ennis Circuit Court Order, Letter from County Registrar and John's reply. 19/12/2006: Letter to the Manager of the Bank of Ireland in Limerick City. 26/12/2006: Letter to the Irish Times regarding a misleading article about John's case. 05/1/2007: Minutes of a meeting with Bank of Ireland Legal Advisor Allan Lewis. 16/1/2007: Letter to Minister McDowell with a new suggestion of Public Solicitor's Office. 26/1/2007: Letter to Minister McDowell about the VLPS campaign against legal corruption. 07/3/2007: Letter to Minister McDowell about the police investigation into John's case. 25/7/2007: Contempt of Court: trespassing on John's land during his trip to London. 10/9/2007: Three letters to the Revenue Commissioners about the proceeds of crime. 18/9/2007: A letter from the Office of the Attorney General and John's reply. 19/9/2007: John's meeting with and letter to the Revenue Commissioners. 20/9/2007: A letter on legal corruption to the Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan T.D. 05/10/2007: Letter to the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners Frank Daly. 16/10/2007: Letter to the Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan on the right to a jury trial. 28/10/2007: Letter to Brian Lenihan T.D. about John's meeting with a man from the Revenue Commissioners. 17/11/2007: Letter to Bank of Ireland Legal Advisor Solicitor Allan Lewis. 05/12/2007: Letter to the Chief Registrar at the Land Registry Office, Dublin. 29/12/2007: Planning Application to build 66 units on John's stolen land. 02/1/2008: Minutes of Attendance at the Offices of Clare County Council. 21/1/2008: Letter from the Office of the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners and John's reply. 06/5/2008: Plenary Summons and Special Indorsement of Claim. 11/5/2008: John's attempts to serve Auctioneer John O'Doherty with the Summons. 12/5/2008: A letter from Roberts Auctioneers, Limerick with John's response. 18/5/2008: Update on the case against John O'Doherty and John Hickie. 13/12/2007: Plenary Summons for a new High Court case where John is the defendant. 16/12/2007: Affidavit by John in response to the Summons. 18/12/2007: A High Court Order stating that John must avoid the Bank of Ireland pending a trial. 18/12/2007: Schedule Index for the court case. 24/1/2008: Notice of Motion to apply for a Mareva Injunction. 08/2/2008: Schedule Index to Supplementary Affidavit. 08/2/2008: Supplementary Affidavit. 12/2/2008: Letter to the Governor of the Bank of Ireland. 17/2/2008: Second Supplementary Affidavit. 01/3/2008: Third Supplementary Affidavit. 05/3/2008: Minutes of Attendance at Green Street Criminal Court. 03/3/2008: High Court Order: application for a Mareva Injunction refused with no reasons given. 09/3/2008: Letter to High Court Registrar Kevin Bresnan. 19/3/2008: Letter to solicitors for the Bank of Ireland, Dublin. 23/3/2008: Letter to the Bank of Ireland Customer Care Unit, Dublin. 31/3/2008: Letter to the Bank of Ireland re the Land Registry office in Waterford. 03/6/2008: 06/6/2008: 09/6/2008: 15/6/2008: 23/6/2008: 24/6/2008: 27/6/2008: 7/9/2006: High Court Order directing John to remove a defamatory comment from RateYourSolicitor.com 8/9/2006: Replying Affidavit by John Gill to documents served on the 7th of September. 28/9/2006: Third Affidavit by John Gill for the RateYourSolicitor.com defamation case. 7/10/2006: Fourth Affidavit by John Gill for the RateYourSolicitor.com High Court case. 9/10/2006: Letter by a VLPS supporter in Canada to the Senior Counsel in the case. 17/10/2006: Fifth Affidavit by John Gill for the High Court case on the 19th. 2/11/2006: Sixth Affidavit by John Gill for the High Court defamation case. 4/11/2006: Seventh Affidavit by John Gill reporting on the proceedings of the 3rd of November. 5/11/2006: Supplement to the Seventh Affidavit by John Gill. 10/11/2006: John's report of events from the 6th to the 9th of November. 18/11/2006: Eighth Affidavit by John Gill for the High Court case on the 20th of November. 22/11/2006: Ninth Affidavit by John Gill stating his intention to appeal to the Supreme Court. July 2005: The experiences of one of our Cavan members with the execution of a Will. Name and address available upon request. Oct 2005: The experiences of one of our Kildare members in relation to his deceased brother's land. Feb 2006: George Hill from Dublin details the violent campaign against his family by his neighbours, the O'Sullivans, who are related to Bertie Ahern. Mar 2006: A Roscommon man's experience in the Courts. Mar 2006: Mr O'Sullivan from Kerry relates the wrongdoing in his divorce case. Mar 2006: The case of a corrupt solicitor in Tralee, Co. Kerry. Mar 2006: A letter of complaint by a French restaurateur to the President of the Circuit Court about a Judge. May 2006: Elva & Daniel Gallagher describe the judicial corruption in their case at Letterkenny Circuit Court. 14/6/2006: Minutes of a hearing for an extension of time to lodge an Appeal. 24/7/2006: Minutes of a hearing for a stay on the Appeal. 02/7/2007: Extracts from Affidavit and Books of Appeal. 28/7/2007: Replying Affidavit to Solicitor Sean McGlynn. 30/7/2007: Minutes of Appeal at the High Court before Justice Edwards. 18/9/2007: Supplemental Affidavit to the High Court Appeal. 8/10/2007: Request for a Jury Trial. 20/10/2007: First Affidavit for a Jury Trial. 26/10/2007: Notice of Appeal to the Supreme Court. 29/10/2007: Reply to McGlynn's comments on Rate-Your-Solicitor.com. 01/11/2007: Letter to Supreme Court Registrar Maeve Kane. 12/11/2007: Letter to Maeve Kane about appealling to the Supreme Court. 16/11/2007: Brief letter to Supreme Court Registrar Maeve Kane. 14/12/2007: A letter from Supreme Court Registrar Maeve Kane. 22/12/2007: Minutes of the Supreme Court hearing of 21 December 2007. 29/02/2008: Minutes of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearing. 01/04/2008: A letter by Daniel Gallagher to P.A. Dorrian & Co. 22/11/2005: An article from the Donegal People's Press about Sean McGlynn & Co. 19/06/2008: May 2006: An appalling vista of dirty play in Wexford. 3/9/2006: An appalling vista of dirty play in Wexford, part 2. May 2006: Joe Patterson explains how the European Court of Human Rights refused to hear his case about a trade dispute because he had not exhausted all legal options in Ireland, ignoring the fact that the Irish courts refused to hear him as well! May 2006: Patrick Lynch from Cork describes his legal efforts to get his land back. June 2006: John McMahon's case of Will and inheritance fraud in Co. Monaghan. 05/7/2006: John's High Court Affidavit and the Minutes of Attendance at the High Court. 14/7/2006: Order of Habeas Corpus - John is now languishing in prison at Castlerea! 16/7/2006: A Circuit Court Affidavit detailing the corruption in John's case. 20/7/2006: John Gill writes about John McMahon's Cavan Circuit Court appearance. 24/7/2006: An Application for Judicial Review of John's case. 27/7/2006: An Affidavit and the Minutes of the High Court case where John was released! 10/8/2006: Response to a letter from Solicitor Paul McCormack. 16/8/2006: A replying Affidavit by John to Solicitor Paul McCormack's Affidavit. Sept 2006: John McMahon's story and picture in the Sunday World. 23/10/2006: Minutes of Attendance at the Four Courts in Dublin. 18/2/2007: An Affidavit summarising the entire case and evidence to date. 09/3/2007: An Affidavit in response to the ruling of Judge John MacMenamin. Aug 2006: Coillte and O2 Communications in collusion to oust Skylink & Co. Ltd and Walter Evans from Transmission site in West Cork. Judge Sean O'Donnabhain denies a fair trial. Tel: 087-2957042. Full story. Walter has some photos of his lone protest. Aug 2006: A woman in Avoca, Wicklow describes the intimidation and attacks on her by her neighbours. Sep 2006: Breffni O'Rourke from Kilkenny's letter complaining of solicitor and garda corruption. Sep 2006: Martin Power from Wexford's story and picture in the Sunday Independent. Oct 2006: The Kelly family from Derry's problems with the administration of an estate. Dec 2006: The Mescall family from England explain how they lost their house in Co. Clare. 22/1/2007: A letter to John Gill from Michael Mescall with more details about this case. 18/2/2008: A new letter from Michael Mescall about the house, which has now been demolished. 17/4/2008: A letter by Zofia Mescall to the presiding judge in the case. 12/5/2008: A summary of the facts in the Mescall case by a Clare businessman. 20/5/2008: A letter by Michael Mescall to the Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern. Jan 2007: A Tipperary family describe how they lost their farm. Mar 2007: The Kennedy brothers from Thurles are in prison for refusing to leave their farm. 31/3/2007: The events surrounding Thomas Kennedy's court hearings from 20-31 March. 29/3/2007: Affidavit by John Gill on behalf of Thomas Kennedy. 31/3/2007: Statement required to ground Application for Judicial Review. 06/4/2007: Legal shenanigans in Thomas Kennedy's case. 08/4/2007: Grounding Affidavit by John Gill regarding Thomas Kennedy's Appeal. 10/4/2007: Notice of Appeal of Thomas Kennedy's imprisonment. 14/4/2007: Events from 10-14 April surrounding Thomas Kennedy's Appeal. 26/4/2007: Letter by John Gill to Thomas Kennedy in Cork Prison. 02/5/2007: Article and comments about this case on Indymedia. 21/11/2007: Press Release about Tom Kennedy, who is now 8 months in prison. 04/1/2008: Tom Kennedy finally released from prison after 9 months. Apr 2007: A Dublin woman relates the problems with her solicitor in relation to a conveyance. Jun 2007: A letter to John Gill from a man with problems re Tansey Solicitors, Sligo. 16/7/2007: Letter to John Gill from a Scottish man who used to work in Donegal. 11/1/2008: A new reply to John Gill from Mr William Archibald. July 2007: Minutes of Donal Rogers in the High Court by witness Elva Gallagher.
24/7/2007: Details of Donal's appeal in the High Court by witness Theresa Toolan.
24/7/2007: Donal's experience as a lay litigant before High Court Judge Johnson.
01/9/2007: Letter by witness Vincent Toolan about the President of the High Court. Aug 2007: Joe Ferris explains the legal corruption in relation to his ancestral home in Omagh, Co. Tyrone. 09/2/2007: A letter to County Court Judge David McFarland explaining the situation. 20/2/2007: A letter to the Deputy Chief Clerk at Omagh Court Office. Apr 2007: High Court Appeal Notice of Motion. Sept 2007: Two Donegal sisters tell of the abuse of their elderly mother by legal professionals. 15/9/2007: Eileen McLaughlin's shocking treatment at the AIB bank in Buncrana, Co. Donegal. Dec 2007: A letter by Patrick Corrigan from Leitrim to the solicitor who is holding his deeds. 20/3/2008: A letter by Patrick to John Gill and a note to three legal firms. 15/5/2008: Letter to three solicitors firms regarding Patrick's Land Certificates. Dec 2007: Father Seamus Dabhoireaun describes the legal corruption surrounding an inheritance. Dec 2007: A legal dispute over the sale of Andrew McGowan's land in Mullaghmore, Co Sligo. Jan 2008: A letter to John Gill from a Waterford woman who had problems setting up a new business. 01/1/2008: More details about the High Court case against the Allied Irish Bank. Jan 2008: The story of a 22-year-old miscarriage of justice for the McCaughey family. 12/1/2008: A letter of complaint to the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland. 16/1/2008: A letter received by Seamus McCaughey from the Department of Agriculture. 21/1/2008: A letter by Seamus McCaughey to the Department of Agriculture in Armagh. 23/1/2008: A letter informing the police and the public of the evidence in a case of cattle theft. 13/2/2008: A replying letter to the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland. 11/3/2008: A letter to a member of Omagh District Council regarding the stolen cattle. 30/5/2008: 09/6/2008: 09/6/2008: 17/6/2008: Jan 2008: An article from the Sunday World about a Derryman who has a dispute with a Judge. Feb 2008: Newspaper articles about a case against a corrupt solicitor in Enniskillen. Mar 2008: An English businessman's story of legal corruption in Cavan. 14/4/2008: A letter by a VLPS member in England in support of Larry Sweeney. 17/4/2008: A letter by a VLPS member in France in support of Larry Sweeney. 21/4/2008: An account of the second hearing in Cavan Circuit Court. 12/5/2008: Corruption in the Office of the DPP. Mar 2008: An article from the Sunday World about a man whose inheritance was plundered by solicitors. |
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