Statute barred

My parents are in a dispute with a solicitor over a stamp duty fine for late payment which we believe is the solicitors fault.

The solicitor in question has accepted in writing that they are liable for some of this fine.

My parents, do not wish to sue for negligence, despite my feeling that it is very obvious in my view - (although I have dealt with this in a previous thread so won't revisit old ground.)

We have tried to deal with the inland revenue but they will not give any urgency to the case. The sum of money that is involved is approximately €20,000 which to my parents is a huge sum of money.

My concern now after taking legal advise is that this solicitor may be "statute barred" in 3 months. Would this mean that despite accepting that they to some degree are liable for the fine, they would not have to pay it and the fine would rest purely on my parents?

I am at my wits end with this situation as it is having an extremely detrimental effect on my parents health and although I contact the solicitor and the inland revenue, they basically have me going around in circles.

"after taking legal advise"

What was that advice?

Here is a little anecdote I use in my office:

My client comes to me with a problem and , usually, their prefered solution. Very often their preferred solution has little or no basis in fact, reality or law. But it suits them, it's nice and it does not involve conflict or hard decisions.

My job as a solicitor is to look at the problem ( and very often this involves hard questions to get the full story) and see what, if any, solutions are available. The solutions are generally of the (a) do nothing ( but that's not going to fix anything) or (b) do something ( but it's gonna mean hard decisions). There may be a range of solutions - many of them decidedly unpalatable but, in the end, the problem will be fixed.

"My parents, do not wish to sue for negligence"

And does this not quite simply lead to the very obvious solution? Parents settle with Revenue - end of story.

mf

+ 1 mf1

Hard to even add to that one, except.

The declining health and lack of financial clout of your parents are factors.

If you feel your solicitor has acted improperly you can report him to the Incorporated Law Society.

Just as we hate contemplating suing a member of the legal profession, the threat of an investigation by the ILS does not fill them with joy.

And yes, I suspect your solicitor may be employing sharp practice by not fully informing you of your rights so that after a certain point you are "out of time".

Get the facts on this, and then all that should go into the complaint.

ONQ.

If the solicitor has accepted that they are liable for part of the fine then the statute of limitations may run from the date if the letter, i.e. the date on which the debt was acknowledged. However, you should check this with another solicitor.

If I were your parents and didn't want to sue but had concerns about the solicitor paying up then I would ask the solicitor to pay a sum of money to cover the likely fine to another solr, or maybe to your parents accountant, on the understanding that he would top it up if the fine were more and he would be refunded the balance money if the fine were less.

The amount of the fine could well be below the excess on his insurance policy so you will need to know that he has the cash. Despite all the chat about the "sheltered sections of the economy" a lot of solicitors are on their uppers. Of course, what would really help is if the Revenue would expedite it. In this regard, your parents would be better off if they had a line of communication to the Revenue Commissioners through another solicitor so that they can be sure they are hearing everything as it happens. They may be able to ring the Revenue directly themselves if they have a reference no.

With all that said, if the solicitor at fault has acknowledged it in writing then he is probably going to pay out of any fine out of his own pocket and is doing his best to be straight up and fair with your parents and will be anxious to sort it out a.s.a.p. for his own reasons. It may be that he is acting as as an honourable man or woman should act on discovering a mistake or oversight.