Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
Hello, thank you for visiting my blog. My name is Michael Gavin of Dundonnell, Taughmaconnell, Ballinasloe, Co. Roscommon, Farmer, Bachelor, born in 1932 and currently aged 83 years.
I stand over all the information in this website and affirm it to be the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It records events that took place since my brother Pat Gavin died Intestate on the 10th of October, 2005 some 10 years ago. If you have further questions or need clarification of some of the material contained in this document feel free to contact me, all are welcome.
The information here covers issues arising in the administration of the said Estate by Robert Marren, Solicitor, the Administrator thereof, involving:-
Payments out to me Michael Gavin and my sister Eileen of our shares of the gross proceeds of the deceased’s lands by the Administrator, Robert Marren.
The question of making due and fair provision in the distribution of the cash assets in the Estate for the profits earned by myself Michael Gavin in the rearing of my own and the also the Estates livestock on the lands and/ or in the alternative, making fair allowance to me for work done and services rendered, by me in looking after the deceased’s livestock on the lands for the past 9/10 years since the deceased’s death on the 10th of October, 2005.
Following Pat’s death I Michael Gavin continued on farming the lands and caring for the livestock in exactly the same way as I had done for upward of 40 years previously, in the expectation that I would be allowed continue doing so by the rest of the family. However this was not possible, owing to the enmity between Ann Sanford and Kathleen O’Keeffe towards my sister Eileen and I. Ultimately I was forced to sell off the livestock and surrender the lands for the sale in due course of administration of the Estate.
I was obliged to use my own funds to fund the expenses of running the farm. Catherine O’Connor’s Account Summary shows that throughout the entire farming period between 2005 and 2012 the cattle sales came to a figure of €46,589 and the expenses came to a figure of €45,918. Accourdingly, the expenses in running the farm were almost equal to the proceeds of the sale of the livestock. Therefore, the profits from running the farming operation represented the monies received each year from the Department of Agriculture.
After the Grant of Administration was issued to Mr. Marren in July, 2012 he put pressure on me to sell the stock and make the lands available for sale. Notwithstanding my reluctance to give up farming, I did cooperate with him and accounted for the sale of the animals.
Ultimately the entire lands were offered for sale by public auction on 22nd of February, 2013. The dwelling house which they previously sought to have included in the sale, were excluded from the sale. I tried to buy the lands from the Estate prior to the Auction but they refused and ultimately Anne Sanford bid higher than me at the Auction. It would appear that the price that Anne Sanford and Kathleen O’Keeffe agreed to pay to purchase the lands was a gross overvaluation of the lands having regard to the nature, quality and condition of the lands at the time of purchase on 22nd February, 2013. Both Anne Sanford and Kathleen O’Keeffe subsequently visited me a number of times requesting that I purchase the lands for their winning bid price which I refused to do stating they had paid over one hundred thousand euros too much for the land. In or around the beginning of May, 2013 Kathleen O’Keeffe telephoned me advising that the lands were to be put up again for sale and that I Michael Gavin was to have a first option to purchase same. However, this did not take place and instead, it would appear that Anne Sanford and Kathleen O’Keeffe got the next of kin, namely Theresa Harte, and the Duffy family disclaim/release their shares in the deceased’s Estate to them, so that effectively, they could put forward a proposal to simply buy out my sister Eileen’s 1/6th and my 1/6th share in the property at the value of the property as determined at the Auction. Allowance were made for them to do the same on the condition that the total 1/6th share would be paid forthwith and that the costs of the incidental to the sale to include all Solicitors fees, Auctioneers fees and Engineers fees would be discharged solely by the Purchasers at their own expense and that I Michael Gavin be allowed have the use of the lands for the rest of my natural life, without interference from the Purchasers.
*14/03/2013 Marren to Gavin confirming that he had made a decision to accept the claim of Michael Gavin to ownership of half the cattle and all the sheep and confirming that the accounts would be prepared by Catherine O’Connor and approved by the Independent Accountant and accepted liability and also seeking a refund of the sum of €4,000 deducted by Michael Gavin on behalf of Feely Stone, Boyle on the basis that he was under the impression Michael Gavin was paid twice for this amount and also seeking payment for half the remaining livestock on the lands;
On 14th March 2013 received a letter from Mr Robert Marren of Robert B. Marren & Co. Solicitors stating in the third paragraph
“Having consider matters, I have made a decision that I will accept the claim of Michael that he owns half the livestock and all the sheep. The Accounts as prepare by Catherine O’Connor and approved by the Independent Accountant will be accepted on that basis. This will enable the Estate to finalize the Income Tax liability which needs to be done as soon as possible.”
Yet Mr Marren Solicitor refuses to award me Michael Gavin his share of the grants paid down from the Department of Agriculture.
In my response letter to Mr Marren on 28th March 2013 I stated in the fourth paragraph
“Finally, as the farming operation between me and my late brother, Patrick was a joint operation on the basis that we shared everything, I also require payment of half the proceeds of the single Payment Entitlements and Disadvantaged Area Grants paid or payable by the Department of Agriculture in respect of the lands be paid to me in return for the services rendered by me on behalf of the Estate in looking after both the deceased and my own animals and which sum would also represent the profit which I would derive from farming the lands on a 50/50 basis, as otherwise I would have been wasting my time looking after my late brother’s animals or in having and maintaining my own animals on the lands. I consider that this is an unreasonable request for settlement of this matter as if I proceed in the alternative on the basis of a claim for work done and services rendered under The Agricultural Wages Act I would be entitle to a far greater sum of monies than I am now seeking.”
28-03-2013 Gavin to Marren pointing out that the sum of €4,000 had not been deductrd by Mr. Glynn, Solicitor in respect of the amount due to Messrs. Feehily Stone, Boyle and also requesting that if his sisters were prepared to let the lands to him at a reasonable price that he would be prepared purchase the remaining animals from the Estate and finally, seeking payment of half the Single Payment Entitlements on the basis that these payments represented the profits from farming the lands, that he was entitled to 50% of same;
**05/07/13 Marron to Gavin and Linney enclosing copy letter dated 3rd of July, 2013 from T & N McLynn, Solicitors on behalf of Sanford and O’Keefe stating that purchasers were prepared to discharge Messrs Gavin & Linney’s share of the expenses in connection with the sale and confirming that their clients were not prepared to take up Michael Gavin’s offer to purchase;
05/12/14 Michael Gavin to Marren & Co., in reply to their letter of the 11th of November, incorporating claim of Michael Gavin to half Single Payment Entitlements, after deductions of Income Tax paid by the Estate on farming income, together with claim for payment of half agricultural wages due to Michael Gavin for minding the deceased’s livestock from 10th of October, 2005 to 27th of May, 2013, less allowances for half letting value of lands, together with the following:
05/12/14 Marren & Co., to Michael Gavin advising that unless he was in receipt of legal proceedings instituted before the 19th of December, he intended to proceed with the distribution of the Estate;
22/12/14 Marren to Gavin threatening that unless he heard from Gavin’s Solicitor by 16th of January, next that Mr. Gavin intended to institute proceedings, that he would precede with the proposed distribution, as previously advised.
***14/01/2015 John Glynn Patrick Hogan & Co. to Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors, Athlone requesting him to ring and write a short letter to Mr. Marren immediately confirming that he would act in the matter in response to Marrens threat to effect a distribution of the Estate.
Michael,
I’ve read you e-mails & blog and view your online video.
It is clear that you were very badly advised in the past not to have ensured that both you and your brother made a will to protect both sets of rights.
While there is no doubt that there are questions regarding the management of this case, the only way that these can be resolved and rectified is by the Courts.
In my 18 years in politics I have not nor will I become involved in family disputes of this nature because, in my experience, everybody loses and the only real winners are the barristers & their bank accounts.
I think that arbitration may have been useful at an earlier stage, but this ultimately is a dispute between the various beneficiaries of the will.
I’m sorry but I cannot be of assistance to you with regard to this matter.
I’m also sending a copy of this e-mail to your nephew, who has also made contact with me, on your behalf.
Yours sincerely,
Denis
Denis Naughten TD
My Respone email as follows:
Denis,
Totally agree with you the only way that these can be resolved and rectified is by the Courts
However it was Mr. Robert Marren Solicitor the administrator for the Estate that should have taken the matter to the courts to have a Judge decide not demand the Elderly Beneficiaries to issue proceedings when there were objection.
Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors did nothing except sit on the files for 3 months. He was instructed by John Glynn Solicitor to write and phone Marren immediately to prevent him closing.
It appears that he too wanted to play God in the matter. Why if he was not prepared to act on our behalf did he not phone us and say so. A Solicitor not undertaken an instruction is a very very serious matter and many have been disciplined for same in the past according to the records on line which are referred to in the blog.
I doubt very much that Marren or Henry would work for nothing yet they appear to think that they have a right to play God in my case.
John Glynn helped us write many a letter to Marren on unheaded paper pointing out the fact that he should seek a court order to direct how the Estate should be Administrated.
Thank you for taking the time to read the blog!
However in view of the fact that you did, how can Marren holding on my 1/6 share and my sisters 1/6 share of the monies from the land sale for nearly 2 years be explained??
There is no good reason why Marren did not pay these monies to us when he received them!
What he did pay out in the end was €12,500 short of what we were entitled to plus interest with no acceptable explanation to date as to why he did same.
It appears he also refuses also to pay John Glynn the money he claims some €50k plus for his services…yet he had no issue paying T&N Mc lynn a year or so prior to closing.
Why do they continually scourge me with their petty battles, what has it got to do with me? and why does Marren threaten Eileen and I that he will not pay John Glynn bill while we seek justice through the law society. How are they related??
We are now told Willie Penrose was not paid, not that we were ever given an invoice for his services, but Marren did deduct for it.
Eileen and i never met with Penrose and we only met with Marren once and all he wanted to discuss was us making our wills….what had that got to do with the Administration of my late brothers Estate, or what business was it of his anyway whether we had our will made or not.
It would appear that because Marren is the Son in Law of Aidan O’Carroll a prominent retired Solicitor in Athlone that none of the Solicitors in the Midland are prepared to act on our behalf.
However we intend to expose the INJUSTICE and ELDER ABUSE we have been subjected too in the public domain and thereby encourage more in our situation to stand up to the Bully Boy tactics lies and deceit that our justice system is riddled with.
I am 83 year of age and I do not deserve to be treated in this fashion. I have worked hard all my life and never wronged any man and if a pair of white bellied bast***S think they can take advantage of my Elder Widowed sister and I they have another thing coming.
Did you have a chance to read the repulsive letter Tony Henry of Tormeys Solicitor sent to Eileen yesterday(copy attached), we were deprived of sleep and up half the night scribbling a response to same. They call them selves educated and he had the cheek to criticizes my signature, what has he a scratch of a line get more from a 2 year old, at least mine spells out my GOOD name.
We are not satisfied with the service on offer in this country to deal with this Injustice and Elder Abuse and as far as we are concerned a country that does not look after its Elderly is no country. To date the only real sympathy and support we have received is from the ordinary people while the rest of yea pluck out one excuse or another as to why yea cannot or do not help out in these matters. Well yea wont sweep this under the carpet and hide away from the facts we have copies of all the correspondence and recall what went on.
Have a nice day!
Michael Gavin
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
I refer to your note dated the 16th of June, 2015. We have now taken up our old file from long term storage in relation to your brother’s papers. We note that the original papers were collected by you.
It is clear from the meetings that we have had with your brother and indeed the documentation that we received from Patrick Hogan & Company that there is little that your brother could do to protect his interest other than to issue proceeding which, as we pointed out to you during our meeting with you and your brother, would be lengthy and very risky in terms of significant legal costs.
In terms of receiving direct instructions from your brother, this did not happen and any communication that we received was clearly from you with your brother’s signature on some of the letters. This is not sufficient for any legal firm to take definitive instructions.
We outlined in our meeting with you and your brother that it would not appear that proceedings were appropriate, for so many reasons. This clearly is something that you may disagree with, however, we were seeking to advise your brother in relation to his legal position.
It is clear that the unfortunate consequences for your brother Michael resulted from your late brother Patrick Gavin not making a will.
Your brother is of course free to make a complaint to the Law Society and we will respond to any complaints direct to the Law Society. We are satisfied that they are no grounds for such a complaint. There is no question of us covering your brother’s costs and we utterly and categorically reject any suggestion of negligence on our part and indeed are most aggrieved that you would suggest this.
We have nothing to apologise for and indeed, we have never, at any stage, suggested that we would take any course of action and certainly we were never purporting to represent.
It is my firm belief that your brother should take stock before he would instruct any solicitor to issue proceedings on his behalf in this issue. The risks associated with taking such an action would be huge as well as the stress and pressure that would be involved in taking such proceedings.
It is clear to me that the dispute and contention surrounding the administration of your late brother’s estate has caused significant stress, worry and anger for your brother, for you and members of your family. However, it is totally inappropriate and unfair for you to suggest that Tormeys Solicitors have not carried out their duties. Your brother has every entitlement to seek alternative representation, but we would still be of the view that your brother Michael should think very, very carefully before committing himself to further risky and protracted legal battles in relation to your brother Patrick’s estate.
I certainly hope that your brother Michael can move on with his life with the inheritance already received from the estate.
Your Faithfully
1st Paragraph from Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors Athlone
“I refer to your note dated the 16th of June, 2015. We have now taken up our old file from long term storage in relation to your brother’s papers. We note that the original papers were collected by you.”
My response to above paragraph
This is the first correspondence we ever received from Mr. Tony Henry’s Office Tormeys Solicitors Athlone. It has taken more that 40 days for Mr. Tony Henry, Tormey Solicitors to respond to our letter dated 16th of June 2015.
The cheek of you to refer to my Elder sister’s letter as a note, don’t you Mr. Henry of Tormeys Solicitors attempt to belittle us.
Here is a copy of that letter sent to Mr. Henry Tormey’s Solicitors 16th June, 2015
Mr Henry,
I am writing to inform you that I am filing complaints against you to the Law Society. I am not satisfied at how you dealt with the following:
Letter from John Glynn Solicitor, Patrick Hogan & Co. dated 14th January, 2015;
Letter from my brother Michael Gavin and I on 6th February, 2015.
My demands are simply this
You agree to cover costs that my brother Michael Gavin and I incur as a result of your gross negligence which have yet to be determined.
Letter of apology to me, acknowledging the inadequate professional service you have provided, and the conscious and intentional disregard you displayed through your gross misconduct in failing to undertake the instructions made on our behalf by our family solicitor John Glynn, Patrick Hogan & Co. Ballinasloe, Co. Galway.
Yours faithfully,
Yes my sister did collect the papers from your office because you sat on same for over 70 days from the 15th of January 2015 when you received them from John Glynn’s office Patrick Hogan & Co. Solicitors Ballinasloe until the end of March and did nothing as far as we are concerned. Why would you want to keep our original papers or a copy of and substantial Case to Counsel files when you were not prepared to undertake the explicate instructions that John Glynn’s office Patrick Hogan & Co. Solicitors gave you verbally in around December 2014 and in writing received in your office 15TH January, 2015. It begs the question why your office bothers to solicit business by advertising extensively on Midland Radio, when it appears that yea are unable to undertake serious clients instructions at hand that we give to your office by a Solicitor for a client. This is a serious matter and there is no point in you stating otherwise.
2nd Paragraph from Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors Athlone
“It is clear from the meetings that we have had with your brother and indeed the documentation that we received from Patrick Hogan & Company that there is little that your brother could do to protect his interest other than to issue proceeding which, as we pointed out to you during our meeting with you and your brother, would be lengthy and very risky in terms of significant legal costs.”
My response to above paragraph
We had one and only 1 meeting not meetings as you Mr. Tony Henry put it. As I recall that 2 hour meeting took place in a conference room at Tormeys Solicitors Offices, Athlone on the 30th January 2015 some 15 days after Mr. Marren Solicitor had distributed the Estate assets on the 16th of January 2015. We had no knowledge that Mr. Marren actually went ahead and distributed the Estate Assets on the 16th of January until we received our cheques in the post, up until then we assumed that you had undertaken the instructions that you Mr. Henry received from Patrick Hogan & Company. These instruction were as follows
Letter from Patrick Hogan & Company received in Tormeys Solicitors Office on 15TH January 2015
“I spoke to you about this matter before Christmas and am now enclosing herewith in duplicate a Case to Counsel (to the intent that there is one copy for yourself and the other for Counsel) incorporating all relevant details relative to this matter.
I would suggest you read the Case and arrange a meeting with Michael Gavin to verify all instructions received before transmitting same to Counsel, for the purpose of ensuring that I have accurately expressed his views and wishes in the matter.
Secondly, I would suggest that you would retain Donal Keane BL, to represent our mutual clients as he is already familiar with the case, having represented Messrs. Gavin & Linney in the prior action taken by Ann Sanford, to have herself appointed as Administrator of the Estate. The only possible difficulty here is that he nominated Bob Marren and telephoned him to ask him would he be willing to act as Administrator, and accordingly, there may be some little reluctance on his part to be further involved if the proceedings involve joining Bob Marren as a Co-Defendant to same. I take the view that it is inevitable that Robert Marren will be jointed as a Co-Defendant, even though the trust and purpose of the proceedings will be to coerce Messrs. Sanford and O’Keeffe to authorise him to pay over the purchase monies forthwith to Messrs. Gavin & Linney and also to concede that Mike Gavin is entitled to 50% of the profits of the lands and/or, in the alternative, fair compensation for the work done and services rendered by him over an eight year period for and on behalf of the Estate.
Thirdly, having regard to the contents of Mr. Marren’s letter to Mike Gavin, dated the 22nd of December, 2014 whereby he is threatening to effect a distribution of the Estate if he does not receive formal notification from Mike Gavin’s Solicitor of his intention to institute proceedings on or before the 16th of January, next, you had best forthwith write a short letter to Robert Marren & Co., confirming that you are now acting in the matter and that you are in process of sending a Case to Counsel.
Finally, for the purpose of endeavoring to avoid further proceedings in the matter, I would suggest that you immediately telephone Robert Marren to advice him that you have received instructions to act and enquire just where exactly does he stand in this matter and enquire whether or not his hands are tied by instructions received from Messrs Sanford & O’Keefe and/or their Solicitors Messrs T & N McLynn. In particular enquire if he concedes that Michael is entitled to half the farming profits (i.e. half the net proceeds of the Department of Agriculture Grants from 2005-2013 inclusive, after deductions of Income Tax paid in respect of the joint farming operation) and /or in the alternative, fair compensation for work done and services rendered by Mike Gavin in looking after the deceased’s animals over this period. Please also enquire why is he not paying out the sum of €82,500 to Mike and Eileen in respect of their 1/6th share of the lands, particularly, now seeing that Messrs. Sanford & O’Keeffe have taken possession of the lands and are letting same for their own benefit and/or he has allowed them into possession of the lands and seeing that he has the purchase monies in his account which Mike and Eileen are agreeable to unconditionally accept in respect of their 1/6 share of the proceeds of sale. Moreover an up to date folio search reveals that the lands have been transferred to Messrs. Sanford & O’Keefe sometime prior to 15th November 2014.
Finally, I do hope that you will see your way to taking this case in the interest of securing justice for Mike and Eileen, whose interest in this matter are being abused by two very vengeful and spiteful sisters, who have already put the Estate to enormous legal expense and whom I have no doubt would be prepared to waste futher assets of the Estate in further litigation.
Yours sincerely,
John V. Glynn
So it appears from the letter above from John Glynn Patrick Hogan & Co. Ballinasloe that he did call you Mr. Tony Henry before Christmas and he did request you Mr. Tony Henry, Tormeys Solictors Athlone to act on our behalf numerous times.
How can you attempt to excuse your failure to carry out the explicate instruction given both verbally and in writing from another Solicitor with “it was clear from our meetings that we have had with your brother” bearing that this one and only meeting occurred some weeks after Mr. Marren distributed the Estate Assets. So what was the purpose of you holding the 2 hour meeting? It appears that you ignored John Glynn’s instructions and played God at our expense. Why did you not pick up the phone as requested and tell Mr. Robert Marren and confirm that you were acting in the matter as you were instructed to do? In the alternative if you felt that based on the documentation you received from Patrick Hogan & Company that there was little you could do why did you not pick up the phone and call me or John Glynn, Solicitor and give us an opportunity to request another Solicitor to act for us. Your reluctance Mr. Tony Henry, Tormey Solicitor to undertake the instruction given you by another Solicitor to act on our behalf is totally unacceptable to me. I have difficulty understanding why you Mr. Henry of Tormeys Solicitors, Athlone failed to respond to correspondence, including correspondence that was crucial and significant to my sister Eileen and I.
3rd Paragraph from Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors Athlone
“In terms of receiving direct instructions from your brother, this did not happen and any communication that we received was clearly from you with your brother’s signature on some of the letters. This is not sufficient for any legal firm to take definitive instructions.”
My response to above paragraph;
Mr. Henry might I remind you, that you received 3 letters from my sister and I. The first on the 06-02-2015 were direct instructions signed by both of us as follows
Dear Tony,
Further to our meeting of 30th January 2015, my brother and I had time to discuss the matter and would like to give you the following instructions. We instruct you to write a letter to Mr Robert Marren requesting answers to the following:
Please explain why we were not awarded €82,500 each for our one sixth share in the Land Sale. The purchase money was paid to Mr Marren on 27th May 2013.
Please explain why €3,764.91 was deducted from Eileen’s share, which was stated on Mr Marren’s distribution account that 50% Of share of livestock handed over on closing Sale of Lands. Eileen did not own any animals.
Where is the refund of €1,400.00 which was paid by Mike Gavin to Mr John Glynn on 23rd February 2007 on account of outlay to meet expenses in taking out a Grant of Administration. This sum has not been taken into account on the revised distribution account which Mr Marren refers to in his letter dated 11th November 2014 to Michael Gavin.
We would like a breakdown of how the figure of €40,892.53 representing fees paid to Robert Marren & Co. were arrived at. Similarly we would like a breakdown of fees paid to Catherine O’Connor, Tony McLynn (Solicitor for the other side), Willie Penrose, (why was it necessary to get his advices). Please advise us of any outstanding bills, has John Glynn, Hogan & Co. been paid to date, and if not why not.
Has the House and adjoining gardens been transferred to Ann Sanford and Kathleen O’ Keefe? We were assured in 2 letters dated 15th Nov 2012 and 7th Dec 2012 from Mr Marron that the dwelling house and the lands (approx ½ acre) surrounding same would be excluded from the sale.
Please explain how you arrived at your decision to award the moneys received from the sale of Pat Gavin’s livestock together with the Gross payments received from the Department of Agriculture without deducting any expense for the minding, looking after, feeding and caring for the animals for the nine years from 2005 to 2014.
Also please explain why you did not award Mike Gavin half of the Grant Money from the Department of Agriculture after making a decision in your letter on 14th of March 2013 to accept the claim of Michael to owning half the livestock and all the sheep.
Eileen Linney Michael Gavin
__________________ _____________________
You go on to say “and any communication that we received was clearly from you with your brother’s signature on some of the letters.” WHAT DO YOU MEAN “from you” perhaps you mean that my sister Eileen hand typed the letter as above the same way I presume a Secretary at Tormeys Solicitors typed the 1 and only letter you posted to us. Or perhaps our instructions to request answers to our questions from Mr. Robert Marren, Mullingar made you uncomfortable. Regardless I can assure you that answers to those questions are more beneficial to me personally than to my sister Eileen, so what is your problem? Maybe it’s a woman’s persistent efforts to seek justice that make you uncomfortable. Also my signature was provided as I recall and in the event that it was not why only now do you mention it and not before now. I have to agree with you Mr. Tony Henry, Tormeys Solicitors Athlone “This is not sufficient for any legal firm to take definitive instructions”.
You may consider yourself educated and yet you have the cheek to criticizes my signature, what is your but a scratch of a line, get more from a 2 year old, at least mine spells out my GOOD name.
We subsequently followed up with you on the 3rd of March 2015 with a hand written letter/note and stated the following;
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
Dear Mr. Henry,
With reference to my letter dated 6th February 2015 to you with instructions to write a letter to Mr. Robert Marren, could you please inform me when can I expect a reply from you.
Thanking you
Sincerely
Eileen
And
Michael Gavin
We have a signed copy of this letter if you need same to refresh your memory!
Then of course the letter sent to you on 16th June, 2015 as above was indeed sent from my sister Eileen alone informing you that she was filing complaints against you to the Law Society. These complaints covered
Letter from John Glynn Solicitor, Patrick Hogan & Co. dated 14th January, 2015;
Letter from my brother Michael Gavin and I on 6th February, 2015.
These complaints clearly cover concerns we both have in relation to our dissatisfied at how you dealt with the above. This may now also explain the attitude you have towards my sister, regardless we both have the right to file complaints with the Law Society of Ireland and seek justice in this matter for the blatant disregard you had for our instructions given to you through a Solicitor.
4th Paragraph from Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors Athlone
“We outlined in our meeting with you and your brother that it would not appear that proceedings were appropriate, for so many reasons. This clearly is something that you may disagree with, however, we were seeking to advise your brother in relation to his legal position.”
My response to above paragraph
In our one and only meeting with you Mr. Tony Henry on the 30th January 2015 some 15 days after Mr. Marren Solicitor had distributed the Estate assets on the 16th of January 2015, because you Mr. Tony Henry failed to undertake explicate instructions namely to inform Mr. Rober Marren, Solicitor Mullingar that you would act in the matter for us. As we recall you did carry out the devil’s advocate routine with us which is customary in these situations. We recall you warning us of the downsides of up to 3 years with costs up to €100,000 with no guarantees of winning and my age 83 years. Then you went on to describe how if we did engage you as our Solicitor, you would put your shoulder to the wheel and keep the letters and meetings to a minimum.
Bearing in mind the fact that you had not undertaken out our original instructions it seemed contradictory now that you were prepared to put your shoulder to the wheel at our expense.
Why do you isolate my sister Eileen after John Glynn, Solicitor requested that you would see your way to taking this case in the interest of securing justice for Mike and Eileen, this also seemed strange to us at our meeting, and here again in your letter.
2 hours free advice in a Solicitors office?? Appears something strange here!
5th Paragraph from Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors Athlone
It is clear that the unfortunate consequences for your brother Michael resulted from your late brother Patrick Gavin not making a will.
While your above statement is true, that does not give you Mr. Tony Henry an excuse to not undertake the explicate instructions given you by a Solicitor on our behalf. There is no getting away from the fact that John Glynn Patrick Hogan & Co. requested you to ring and write a short letter to Mr. Marren immediately confirming that you would act in the matter in response to Marren’s threat to effect a distribution of the Estate. Nor is there a logical reason as to why you did not inform us, so that we could engage another Solicitor to act on our behalf . We are of the opinion that a grave injustice has been dealt to both my sister Eileen and I and it constitutes Elder Abuse.
6th Paragraph from Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors Athlone
“Your brother is of course free to make a complaint to the Law Society and we will respond to any complaints direct to the Law Society. We are satisfied that there are no grounds for such a complaint. There is no question of us covering your brother’s costs and we utterly and categorically reject any suggestion of negligence on our part and indeed are most aggrieved that you would suggest this.”
Here again you isolate Eileen as if she has incurred no loss at the hand of Mr. Rober Marren. Let me refer you back to John Glynn’s letter which states “Please also esquire why is he not paying out the sum of €82,500 to Mike and Eileen in respect of their 1/6th share of the lands” and our first question that we request you pose to Mr. Marren on our behalf
Please explain why WE were not awarded €82,500 each for our one sixth share in the Land Sale. The purchase money was paid to Mr Marren on 27th May 2013.
Please explain why WE meaning both of us. Surely you recall we also made that point clear to you at the meeting that Mr. Marren had short chained us by €12,500 each, notwithstanding the fact that he had the monies in his possession for nearly 2 years prior and refused to hand over same in isolation to closing the estate.
We believe that Mr. Robert Marren should NOT have finalised the distribution without addressing our objections, and it appears he did same to avoid paying our €82,500 1/6 share of the land from action in isolation to the rest of the estate.
While it would appear that these are matters that can only be dealt with by the court if they cannot be resolved by agreement I believe it should be the Administrator who goes back into Court to get a Court Order directing how the estate can be distributed not the ELDERLY BENEFICIARIES.
While it goes without saying that I have every right to make a complaint to the Law Society, this would be pointless bearing in mind that my complains are one in the same as my sister’s. So in the event that the Law Society of Ireland does not accept that our/my sisters 2 complaints of inadequate professional services, warrant investigation and which are already overseen by the independent Adjudicator we will proceed to the solicitors disciplinary tribunal Dublin. Although this whole matter is a source of embarrassment to us, we will have no hesitation in disclosing same in the public domain, as it is our belief that the general public have a right to be made aware of the events that took place and let them judge for themselves based on the true facts.
7th Paragraph from Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors Athlone
We have nothing to apologies for and indeed, we have never, at any stage, suggested that we would take any course of action and certainly we were never purporting to represent.
My response to above paragraph
Thank you. That’s the problem you Mr. Henry never did represent us, nor did you inform us so we could engage another Solicitor to act on our behalf.
It would also appear to us Mr. Henry of Tormeys Solicitors, Athlone that you facilitated Mr. Marren by not phoning him or writing him immediately as requested by John Glynn Solicitor.
8th Paragraph from Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors Athlone
“It is my firm belief that your brother should take stock before he would instruct any solicitor to issue proceedings on his behalf in this issue. The risks associated with taking such an action would be huge as well as the stress and pressure that would be involved in taking such proceedings.”
My response to above paragraph
What concern is it of yours Mr. Henry Tormey what stress and pressure I can enjure. We have a saying in the country keep prodding at an old stone wall and it will eventually give!
9th Paragraph from Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors Athlone
“It is clear to me that the dispute and contention surrounding the administration of your late brother’s estate has caused significant stress, worry and anger for your brother, for you and members of your family. However, it is totally inappropriate and unfair for you to suggest that Tormeys Solicitors have not carried out their duties. Your brother has every entitlement to seek alternative representation, but we would still be of the view that your brother Michael should think very, very carefully before committing himself to further risky and protracted legal battles in relation to your brother Patrick’s estate.”
My response to above paragraph
What duties did Tormeys Solicitors carry out ?
What duties did Tormeys Solicitors carry out ?
That’s the whole problem you Mr. Tony Henry of Tormeys Solicitor carried out NO duties in relation to the instruction John Glynn, Solicitor made on our behalf, nor did you undertake the instruction my sister and I gave you Mr, Tony Henry, namely to demand Mr. Robert Marren to provide answers to 7 important questions.
Who are you to lecture my sister Eileen or I on our entitlements to seek alternative representation while knowing full well that Mr. Marren is the son in law of a prominent retired Athlone Solicitor and we were advised that Solicitor in the midlands would be reluctant to act on our behalf because of same. We both have every intention of seeking JUSTICE in this matter and will leave no stone unturned until same is served. Far be it from me a humble farmer to JUDGE you Mr. Henry as you did us, but what gives you the athority to scribe the letter that you did to my defenless ELDERLY WIDOWED sister Eileen Linney, who sought nothing but JUSTICE for us. I Michael Gavin from Dundonnell, Taughmaconnell Co. Roscommon will not wish you any bad luck, however I will not wish you any good luck either.
I am of the view that it is you Mr. Tony Henry of Tormeys Solictors Athlone should consider your position very, very, very carefully before exposing yourself to further risky and protracted legal battles not to mention the reputation of Tormeys Solicitors in the eyes of concerned public onlookers.
We both feel that a grave injustice has been dealt to us not to mention the Bully Boy tactics and ELDER ABUSE we received and we intend to pursue the matter VIGOROUSLY until same is undone.
We believe it’s high time that you Mr.Tony Henry hang up your boots as they forced me to do mine. We feel that an inadequate professional service has been provided by Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath and you Mr. Tony Henry, Tormeys Solicitor, Athlone, Co. Westmeath and it is not of a quality that could reasonably be expected of Solicitors.
10th Paragraph from Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors Athlone
“I certainly hope that your brother Michael can move on with his life with the inheritance already received from the estate.”
My response to above paragraph
Here you go again writing to my sister Eileen and referring your advice to me Michael Gavin. Why would you hope that I can move on with my life? or do you mean so that you can move on with yours and just pretend that this never occurred.
It begs the question would you Mr. Henry move on with yours, would you work for nothing for 9 years and then have your objections ignored by both the administrator and the solicitor who was instructed to block same from happening with a simple phone call??
My sister Eileen and I refuse to allow you Mr. Henry and Mr. Robert Marren move on with your life’s in isolation to what has occurred in this matter until our demands are met.
Have a nice day!
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
Email marrensolrs@eircom.net, thenry@tormeys.ie,complaints@lawsociety.ie and express your dissatisfaction at what has occurred in this matter.
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
Dear Justice Mary Laffoy,
I am writing to give you to inform you of what happened after my special summons to the High court 9th of March , 2010. In the matter of the Estate of Patrick Gavin between Ann Sanford plaintiff and Eileen Linney and Michael Gavin defendants.
I am not satisfied with the manner in which the administration of the Estate was conducted by Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar and I refer you to the enclosed documents which were sent to Mr. Tony Watson, Solicitor, Deputy Head of Complaints and Client Relations Section at Law Society of Ireland. Ref: 22942/L/19/7
I also have issues with Tony Henry, Tormeys Solicitors, Athlone for not undertaking the written and verbal instructions that were given him by another Solicitor on my behalf, namely to ring and or write Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar. Please also refer to the complaints sent to Mr. Tony Watson, Solicitor, Deputy Head of Complaints and Client Relations Section at Law Society of Ireland. Ref: 22943/L/19/7 in relation to this matter.
It would appear that Mr. Henry, Tormeys Solicitors, Athlone did not undertake the instructions as requested nor did he see fit to inform us so that we could engage another Solicitor to prevent Mr. Marren, Solicitor distributing the Estate with no regard to our objections, namely to pay my sister Eileen and I the correct amount for our 1/6 share from the proceeds of the land Auction Sale, monies that were in Mr. Marren’s possession for nearly 2 years prior. Also to compensate me Michael Gavin for my work done and services rendered for the 9 years I spent looking after the Estates animals. Mr. Robert Marren, refused to award me the grant monies paid down from the Department of Agriculture and instead of going back into Court and get a Court Order directing how the estate can be distributed, Mr. Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar passed the book to my Elder sister Eileen and I and demanded court proceeding to prevent the distribution.
I do hope you can see your way to expressing your views in this matter, as I am now 83 year old and of the opinion that a grave injustice has been dealt to both my sister Eileen and I and it constitutes Elder Abuse.
Yours Sincerely
Michael Gavin
Response
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Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
Tony Watson Dundonnell,
Solicitor, Taughmaconnell,
Deputy Head of Complaints Co. Roscommon.
and Client Relations Section
Date 26-07-2015
Ref: 22942/L/19/7
Ref: 22943/L/19/7
Dear Mr. Watson,
I am writing to inform you that over the weekend I was informed from an activist via social media that Willie Penrose TD BL stated he had not received his payment from Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar. I was also informed that he stated “He did not give a sh.. about my campaign to seek justice in the matter”
Please find attached the previous letters I sent you in relation to my complaints.
“Complaint No 6
My sixth complaint is based on Mr. Marrens response to my sixth question to him on 13-04-2015
My sixth question to you on 13-04-2015 was
I would like a breakdown of how the figure of €40,892.53 representing fees paid to Robert Marren & Co. were arrived at. Similarly I would like a breakdown of fees paid to Catherine O’Connor, Tony McLynn (Solicitor for the other side), Willie Penrose, (why was it necessary to get his advices). Please advise me of any outstanding bills, has John Glynn, Hogan & Co. been paid to date, and if not why not.
And Mr. Marren’s Response
William Penrose B.L. advices were sought in relation to the sale of lands.
My Objection to his response was
I am also still intrigued to know what advices William Penrose B.L. had in relation to the sale of lands that cost the Estate €1,230, and have a good mind to question him individually also on his fee. Mr. Marren to date has not provided details or invoice copy of William Penrose’s bill.”
So it begs the question was Willie Penrose paid and if he was I am entitled to be furnished with an invoice and explanation of what advice he offered.
In the alternative if what Mr. Willie Penrose states is true that he was not paid, then how come Mr. Marren, Solicitor is permitted to charge the Estate of my late brother Patrick Gavin €1230 for advice? I would strongly urge you again to reinvestigate this matter.
Here again we appear to have another example of Mr. Roberts Marren’s reluctance to pay. This is reminiscent of the manner in which he dealt with paying out our 1/6 share from the sale of the Estate lands. Here again despite our persistent requests Mr. Robert Marren refused to pay out same until finalising the distribution during the Christmas period 2014-2015, WITHOUT ADDRESSING OUR OBJECTIONS, and it appears he did same to avoid paying our 1/6 share of the land from auction in isolation to the rest of the estate, notwithstanding the fact that the moneys for same were in Mr. Marren’s possession nearly 2 years previously. He has yet to provide a reasonable explanation of why he did not “bite the bullet” and pay over the full amount when Mr. Robert Marren received the funds way back on 27th of May 2013. Please also refer to my previous letter to you dated 11/07/2015 pointing out the fact that Mr. Marren refuses to pay John Glynn, Solicitor, Patrick Hogan & Co. until we stop threatening him as he puts it by reporting him to the Law Society of Ireland.
We do not consider our reporting Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar to the Law Society a threat. We have every right to seek justice for the unjust and unfair way we have been dealt with and taken advantage of considering our age (83), by Mr. Robert Marren the administrator and the beneficiaries of the Estate to the extent that it constitutes ELDER ABUSE.
We have not received a response to the letter dated 01-07-2015, and I would assume that your office is still investigating our complaints in regard to Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath Ref: 22942/L/19/7 and Mr. Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors, Athlone, Co. Westmeath Ref: 2943/L/19/7.
My sister Eileen received a call to her mobile phone last week from the private no of Ms Carol Ann Casey Adjudicator, requesting permission to adjudicate the matter. Eileen and I are unsure as to how her mobile no was obtained or what adjudicating the matter will achieve.
My sister Eileen was recently informed by a Solicitor in Athlone that he would not act on our behalf because Robert Marren was the son in law of a prominent retired Solicitor, who was handing over chairmanship of certain clubs and societies too. He advise us to go east or west but not around the midlands.
With that in mind we would appreciate if the Law Society of Ireland could suggest an ethical solicitor that would be prepared to write up a grounding affidavit against Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath and a separate grounding affidavit against Mr. Tony Henry, Tormeys Solicitor, Athlone, Co. Westmeath for the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
We both feel that a grave injustice has been dealt to us not to mention the Bully Boy tactics and ELDER ABUSE we received and we intend to pursue the matter VIGOROUSLY until same is undone.
We believe it’s high time that Marren and Henry hang up their boots as they forced me to do mine. We feel that an inadequate professional service has been provided by Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath and Mr. Tony Henry, Tormeys Solicitor, Athlone, Co. Westmeath and it is not of a quality that could reasonably be expected of Solicitors.
Your Faithfully
Michael Gavin
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Michael,
I’ve read you e-mails & blog and view your online video.
It is clear that you were very badly advised in the past not to have ensured that both you and your brother made a will to protect both sets of rights.
While there is no doubt that there are questions regarding the management of this case, the only way that these can be resolved and rectified is by the Courts.
In my 18 years in politics I have not nor will I become involved in family disputes of this nature because, in my experience, everybody loses and the only real winners are the barristers & their bank accounts.
I think that arbitration may have been useful at an earlier stage, but this ultimately is a dispute between the various beneficiaries of the will.
I’m sorry but I cannot be of assistance to you with regard to this matter.
I’m also sending a copy of this e-mail to your nephew, who has also made contact with me, on your behalf.
Yours sincerely,
Denis
Denis Naughten TD
Denis,
Totally agree with you the only way that these matters can be resolved and rectified is by the Courts
However it was Mr. Robert Marren Solicitor the administrator for the Estate that should have taken the matter to the courts to have a Judge decide not demand the Elderly Beneficiaries to issue proceedings when there were known objections.
Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors did nothing except sit on the files for 3 months. He was instructed by John Glynn Solicitor to write and phone Marren immediately to prevent Marren closing.
It appears that he too wanted to play God in the matter. Why if he was not prepared to act on our behalf did he not have the common decency to phone us and say so. A Solicitor not undertaken an instruction is a very very serious matter and many have been disciplined for same in the past according to the records on line which are referred to in the blog.
I doubt very much that Marren or Henry would work for nothing yet they appear to think that they have a right to play God in my case.
John Glynn helped us write many a letter to Marren on un-headed paper pointing out the fact that Marren should seek a court order to direct how the Estate should be Administrated. Apparently that is common practice if when agreement can not be reached between the beneficiaries of an Estate.
Thank you for taking the time to read the blog!
However in view of the fact that you did, how can Marren holding on my 1/6 share and my sisters 1/6 share of the monies from the land sale for nearly 2 years be explained??
There is no good reason why Marren did not pay these monies to us when he received them!
What he did pay out in the end was €12,500 each short of what we were entitled to plus interest with no acceptable explanation to date as to why he did same.
It appears he also refuses also to pay John Glynn the money he claims some €50k plus for his services…yet he had no issue paying T&N Mc Lynn a year or so prior to closing.
Why do they continually scourge me with their petty battles, what has it got to do with me? and why does Marren threaten Eileen and I that he will not pay John Glynn’s bill while we seek justice through the law society. How are they related??
We are now told Willie Penrose was not paid, not that we were ever given an invoice for his services, but Marren did deduct for it.
Eileen and i never met with Penrose and we only met with Marren once and all he wanted to discuss was us making our wills….what had that got to do with the Administration of my late brothers Estate, or what business was it of his anyway whether we had our will made or not.
It would appear that because Marren is the Son in Law of Aidan O’Carroll a prominent retired Solicitor in Athlone that none of the Solicitors in the Midlands are prepared to act on our behalf.
However we intend to expose the INJUSTICE and ELDER ABUSE we have been subjected too in the public domain and thereby encourage more in our situation to stand up to the Bully Boy tactics lies and deceit that our justice system is riddled with.
I am 83 year of age and I do not deserve to be treated in this fashion. I have worked hard all my life and never wronged any man and if a pair of white bellied bast***S think they can take advantage of my Elder Widowed sister and I they have another thing coming.
Did you have a chance to read the repulsive letter Tony Henry of Tormeys Solicitors sent to Eileen yesterday(copy attached), we were deprived of sleep and up half the night scribbling a response to same. They call them selves educated and yet he had the cheek to criticizes my signature, what has he a but an arrogant scratch of a line get more from a 2 year old, at least mine spells out my GOOD name.
We are not satisfied with the service on offer in this country to deal with this Injustice and Elder Abuse and as far as we are concerned a country that does not look after its Elderly is no country. To date the only real sympathy and support we have received is from the ordinary people while the rest of yea pluck out one excuse or another as to why yea cannot or do not help out in these matters. Well yea wont sweep this under the carpet and hide away from the facts we have copies of all the correspondence and recall what went on.
Have a nice day!
Michael Gavin
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I received, as did many others, your email in relation to the administration of the estate of your late brother Pat Gavin. I have retired as a Solicitor for some years but I have no record of you ever consulting me in relation to this matter. Your sister Eileen did mention it to me some years ago and I told her I was not prepared to act or otherwise get involved.
I would appreciate if you would not correspond with me further or include me in your mailing list in relation to this matter.
“I have no idea why you are sending this material to me or for that matter to other agricultural advisors. This issue is no concern of mine and I would appreciate if you would refrain from attempts to involve me in your dispute.”
Michael Gavin’s humble response to Monaghan
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“We are Actively Seeking Journalist to Expose Story Far & Wide the Injustice this 83 Yr old Farmer endured Lied into Working for Nothing for 9 years Elder Abuse of Bullies”
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3 of 8 complaints made to Law Society of Ireland in relation to Mr Robert Marren Solicitor
Complaint No 3
My Third complaint is based on Mr. Robert Marrens, Solicitor, Mullingar response to my third question to him on 13-04-2015
My third question to Mr Marren on 13-04-2015 was
Please explain how you arrived at your decision to award the moneys received from the sale of Pat Gavin’s livestock together with the Gross payments received from the Department of Agriculture without deducting any expense for the minding, looking after, feeding and caring for the animals for the nine years from 2005 to 2014.
His Response was
“As Administrator, it fell to me to make a decision how to treat the proceeds of sale of livestock. I decided to split this between the Estate and your goodself. However, I did not consider your claim for maintaining livestock to be justified, given that you were in possession of the estate lands for such a long period of time free of charge and the fact that you were the joint owner of the livestock anyway. I also based my decision on the Reports of the Estate Accountant and indeed the treatment of same on Farm Accounts.”
As regards ownership of the livestock, I have been totally consistent in claiming that I own half of the livestock and all of the sheep. My ownership of half of the livestock goes back to my youth when my parents encouraged me to take an interest in farming by giving me a number of animals within the overall herd which I with the consent of my brother, Pat was able to have and maintain on the lands. Over the years I added to the original stock by purchasing other stock out of my own monies and by doing deals with my brother, Pat, so that ultimately, by the time Pat died in October, 2005 I owned half the entire herd. Moreover I owned all the sheep as my brother Pat got out of sheep a few years before he died and sold all his interest in the sheep to me. Accordingly, in the referenced years for the purpose of acquiring the Single Farm payment Entitlements, half the livestock on the lands belonged to me and my brother, Pat shared the entitlements with me. There was no differences between Pat and myself in our dealings. In other words we shared the workload, we shared all the expenses, and we shared the profit and income from the land. I refer you to my statement dated 17th of December, 2007, comprehensively dealing with my ownership of half the livestock (cattle) and all of the sheep on the property. In addition, the statement taken on the 23rd of January, 2013 from J H , a cattle dealer who had regular dealings with Pat and myself in connection with the sale of our animals down through the years, corroborates the position. These statements are located at the end of this document (Mike Gavin’s statement dated 17/12/07 and J H’s statement which I sent to Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar with letter dated 25/01/13).
I object to this decision because the livestock were not Mr Marrens or the estates to split in the first place. It was explained to Mr. Marren and Catherine O’ Connor the Farm accountant the history of the livestock on numerous occasions by myself, my sister Eilenn , J H the cattle dealer (25/01/2013 Corroborative statement from J H as to his dealings with the late Patrick Gavin and Michael Gavin in connection with the sale of their livestock over the years;) and J G our family solicitor, that myself and my brother had a joint farming operation in respect of which each of us shared the expenses and took the profits on the sale of our respective animals to include the division of the single farm payments accordingly as same were received. If Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar did not accept this explanation why did he not object at the time and why in his letter on 14th of March 2013 did he agree to accept my claim to owning half the livestock and all the sheep, surely that would have been the time to point out that I would not be reimbursed for minding, looking after, feeding and caring for the animals for the nine years from 2005 to 2014. I feel I was “led down the garden path” on this. When I express my concerns to Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar he responds that he based his decision on the Reports of the Estate and Farm Accounts. Catherine O’Connor the Farm Accountant on the other hand states it’s a legal matter and my estranged sister Kathleen O’ Keefe stated in the past that it would be sorted out at closing.
I and those I have spoken to in relation to this matter FAIL to see the logic to Mr. Robert Marren’s decision, how does he expect me to labour for free for 9 years at my own expense and pay vets fees and fodder to fatten cattle so that those that do nothing can reap the rewards of the GROSS profits. I believe with every bone in my body that I am entitled to be paid for the work done and services rendered and monies expended by me in looking after my brother’s livestock from the time my brother died up to the time the animals were sold, this you will appreciate involved the daily herding and looking after the animals to include feeding of the animals in Winter months to include purchase of food stuffs and discharging vets fees etc.
I also fail to see why it was necessary to hire the additional Estate Accountant. I am of the opinion that the Farm Accountant Catherine O’ Connor was enough and I recall myself and my sister Eileen explicitly pointing this out to Mr Robert Marren, Solicitor at our first and only meeting in his office when we objected to him going to the further expense of hiring an additional accountant. It appears to me that between them they got it books wrong.
When J G, Solicitor was originally administrating the Estate, an additional accountant was not required to oversee Catherine O’Conner’s work, John was quite capable of carrying out that duty himself.
You will note that the additional Accountant that Mr. Robert Marron, Solicitor, Mullingar insisted on hiring charges the Estate an additional fee of €8,751.45 which I consider to be extremely expensive and an unnecessary expense. You will also note that although he is hired to oversee the accounts his fee is in excess of Catherine’s fee.
Based on the objections I have made above to Mr. Marren’s response I wish to state the following
Again I feel that an inadequate professional service has been provided by Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar and it is not of a quality that could reasonably be expected of a solicitor. By denying me a share in the profits, it means that I was working for nothing over the 9 years in question from October, 2005 through to 2013. There is no logic to this decision.
Without the bill of costs to include a detailed breakdown of how the figure of €40,892.53 representing fees paid to Robert Marren & Co. were arrived at, which I feel I am entitle to a copy of; I can only assume that it will contain charges for all the unnecessary additional letters, documents and accountant fees that resulted from Mr Marren’s negligence which has led to the squandering of the estates assets.
Here again I would question whether Mr Marren is guilty of Misconduct by tending to bring the solicitors profession into disrepute.
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Complaint No 5
My fifth complaint is based on Mr. Robert Marren’s response to my fifth question to him on 11-04-2015
My fifth question to Mr Marren, Solicitor Mullingar on 11-04-2015 was
Also please explain why you did not award Mike Gavin half of the Grant Money from the Department of Agriculture after making a decision in your letter on 14th of March 2013 to accept the claim of Michael to owning half the livestock and all the sheep.
Mr. Marren’s response on 22nd April was
“In my view, the grant monies belong to the Estate. The Farm Accounts as prepared have always treated the Grant monies as belonging to the Estate and I adopted the same approach in making my decision.”
My Objection to his response:-
After the death of my brother Patrick, my brother Michael Gavin was appointed herd keeper for the animals by the Department of Agriculture. His understanding was that he would receive the grant monies paid from the department to subsidise the looking after the animals. As I recall he did receive some monies from J G, Solicitor paid down from the department, and then later on my 2 estranged sisters Anne Sanford and Kathleen O’Keefe objected to this.
Catherine O’Conner’s Account Summary 24/02/2012 shows that throughout the entire farming period between 2005 and 2012 the cattle sales came to a figure of €46,589 and the expenses came to a figure of €45,918. Accordingly, the expenses in running the farm were almost equal to the proceeds of sale of livestock. Therefore the profit from the farming operation represented the monies received each year from the Department of Agriculture under the single Payment Scheme, the Disadvantaged Area Scheme and any other Schemes of the Department of Agriculture, less any income tax payable to the state arising out of the farming operation. See Catherine O’Connor’s Account Summary that was attached to Messrs. Patrick Hogan & Company’s Capital Account dated 24th of February, 2012.
Mr. Marren, Solicitor Mullingar argues in his response that the grant monies belong to the Estate, so therefore in my opinion, it seems only reasonable that the accounts should charge the estate for looking after the animals.
I don’t understand how Mr Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar can permit the estate to have it both ways, and I feel my brother Michael Gavin should be awarded either the grant monies paid by the Department of Agriculture for the nine years he looked after all the animals, or in the alternative he should be paid reasonable farm labors wages and refunds for the expenses incurred in running the farm as appointed herd keeper by the Department of Agriculture.
The next of kin cannot have it both ways. They cannot on the one hand expect to receive the monies from the sale of my late brother Pat Gavin’s livestock together with the gross payments received from the Department of Agriculture, without incurring any expense for the minding, looking after and caring for the animals down through the years.
Based on the objections I have made above to Mr. Marren’s response I wish to state the following:
Again I feel that an inadequate professional service has been provided by Mr Marren and it is not of a quality that could reasonably be expected of a solicitor. I take issue with Robert Marren, Solicitor over his accounting in this matter and the lack of clarity in same, apart altogether from his unwillingness to make any allowance to my brother Michael Gavin for his shares in the profits of the lands, or in the alternative, making any allowance to him for work done and services rendered in minding the deceased’s livestock. He also did not accept that the balance of the animals that remained on the lands on the date of closing belonged to him.
As a result of Mr Marren’s reluctance to see reason in the above matter I have been forced to incur additional unnecessary expenses in drafting documents and letters time and time again to prove the claim. By denying my brother a half share in the profits it means that HE WAS WORKING FOR NOTHING over the years in question from October, 2005 through to 2013. This is totally unjust and totally unacceptable to me. My brother Michael Gavin would have no difficulty in abandoning his genuine claim to ownership in half the remaining livestock that remained on the lands on the date of closing, if, in the alternative, he was paid for the work done and services rendered in minding the entire herd.
Here again I would question whether Mr Marren is guilty of Misconduct by tending to bring the solicitors profession into disrepute.
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Complaint No 6
My sixth complaint is based on Mr. Marrens response to my sixth question to him on 13-04-2015
My sixth question to you on 13-04-2015 was
I would like a breakdown of how the figure of €40,892.53 representing fees paid to Robert Marren & Co. were arrived at. Similarly I would like a breakdown of fees paid to Catherine O’Connor, Tony McLynn (Solicitor for the other side), Willie Penrose, (why was it necessary to get his advices). Please advise me of any outstanding bills, has John Glynn, Hogan & Co. been paid to date, and if not why not.
His Response
“I have already forwarded to you my detailed Bill of Costs in relation to fees. Catherine O’Connor prepared Farm Accounts. Mr Tony McGlynn was the Solicitor in High Court proceedings on behalf of some of the parties and was awarded his costs by Order of the High Court as was Hogan & Company. William Penrose B.L. advices were sought in relation to the sale of lands.”
My Objection to his response:-
To date I have NOT received Mr. Marren detailed Bill of Costs in relation to fees. I believe to say “I have already forwarded to you my detailed Bill of Costs in relation to fees” is a blatant lie on Mr Mirren’s part. I believe the devil is in the detail and that is why Mr Marron has conveniently neglected to send me a breakdown of how the figure of €40,892.53 representing fees paid to Robert Marren & Co. were arrived at.? No this is a convenient LIE in my humble opinion.
A solicitor familiar with the case recently remarked to a member of my family that it was as if Mr Marren just plucked the figure of €40,892.53 out of thin air. Regardless I eagerly await Mr Marrens a detailed breakdown of how the figure of €40,892.53 representing fees paid to Robert Marren & Co. were arrived at.
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Letter to Law Society
Tony Watson
Solicitor,
Deputy Head of Complaints
and Client Relations Section
Date 02-07-2015
Ref: 22942/L/19/7
Dear Mr. Watson,
I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 29th June, 2015. I am extremely disappointed that based on the 8 individual complaints I made in relation to how Mr. Marren, Solicitor, dealt with the administration of my late brother Patrick Gavin’s Estates; you do not believe that these complaints of inadequate professional services, alleged over charging and misconduct, warrant investigation by the Law Society of Ireland.
You are most correct when you state that Mr. Marren was clearly dealing with a very complex and contentious estate, as were my brother Michael Gavin and I. However that does not give him the right to proceed as he did.
What exactly do you mean when you state that “Mr. Marren has set out in some detail how the estate would be distributed, based upon his client’s very clear instructions?”
It would appear that our family Solicitors J G’s, suspicions were correct when he stated in his letter to Tony Henry, Tormeys Solicitors on 14th January, 2015, “Finally, for the purpose of endeavoring to avoid further proceedings in the matter, I would suggest that you immediately telephone Robert Marren to advise him that you have received instructions to act and enquire just where exactly does he stand in this matter and enquire whether or not his hands are tied by the instructions received from Messrs. Sanford & O’Keeffe and/or their Solicitors, Messr. T & N McLynn.”
If you consider Messrs. Sanford & O’Keeffe clients of Mr. Marren, where does that leave my brother Michael Gavin and I. I was under the impression that we were all beneficiaries of the Estate and our clear instructions and objections should be dealt with in a fair and unbiased way by the administrator Mr. Marren.
You go on to acknowledge my brothers letter of the 5th December, 2014 in which my brother Michael Gavin states “If a fair allowance is not made on an agreed basis, I will not give my consent to any distribution account prepared by you. Similarly, my sisters will also have to agree before a distribution account can be finalised and a distribution effected. Accordingly you as Administrator will be unable to distribute the estate unless you can procure agreement between us and, if this agreement is not forthcoming, I am advised the only way you, as Administrator, can be protected is to go back into Court and get a Court Order directing how the estate can be distributed.”
However Mr. Marren passed the book to us and demanded court proceeding to prevent the distribution, and although he extended the time for the distribution to allow for the proceedings to be issued and served, as you stated yourself in letter Ref 22943/L/19/7 “It is quite clear from the chronology, that Mr. Henry was only instructed over a very limited period, and there is reference to this being over the Christmas Period December/January 2014/2015.” While this does not excuse Mr. Henry’s reluctance to undertake J G’s verbal and written instructions, I hope you can appreciate that the very limited period was based on Mr. Marren’s decision to finalise the distribution of the estate with little regard to our objections.
You are quiet right we had difficulties with both solicitors and barristers to the extent that there appears to be a significant reluctance from local Solicitors to challenge Mr. Marren. After Mr. Henry’s advice that it could take up to 3 years and costs in the range of €60,000 to €100,000 to sue Mr. Marren we are fearful that we may be taken advantage of again and loose the reduced amount we were awarded to date. We believe that Mr. Marren should not have finalised the distribution without addressing our objections, and it appears he did same to avoid paying our €82,500 1/6 share of the land from action in isolation to the rest of the estate.
I was of the belief that my complaints to the Law Society of Ireland would get Mr. Marren to see the error in his judgement and the seriousness of the matter.
I maintain that a number of my complaints do relate to alleged overcharging and inadequate professional service and I have difficulty understanding why the Society refuses to investigate them.
I do appreciate that the Society’s complaints and clients relations Committee has no role in determining the proper distribution of an Estate, or effectively acting as a mediator in a dispute between beneficiaries, and I apologise if I gave that impression that’s what I was seeking.
While these are matters that can only be dealt with by the court if they cannot be resolved by agreement I believe it should be the Administrator who goes back into Court to get a Court Order directing how the estate can be distributed not the elderly beneficiaries.
Before referring this matter to the independent Adjudicator and/or tribunal I would greatly appreciate it if you could reconsider the matter paying particular attention to the fact that Mr. Marren
Allowed confusion to arise in relation to the exact disbursement of funds held by him;
Grossly delayed, without reasonable explanation, the administration of the estate, the deceased person having died in 2005 some ten years ago;
Showed a complete disregard for the interests of the beneficiaries, whom Mr. Marren, Solicitor, knew to be elderly, and by his conduct is depriving two of the beneficiaries, of the enjoyment of their share in the estate;
Provided an inadequate professional service and it is not of a quality that could reasonably be expected of a solicitor. There is no good reason why Mr Marren did not “bite the bullet” and pay over the full €82,500 when he received the funds way back on 27th of May 2013.
Being reluctant to resolve the issue in isolation to the rest of the Estate;
Not provided the detailed bill of costs to include a detailed breakdown of how the figure of €40,892.53 representing fees paid to Robert Marren & Co. were arrived at, I believe that legal and auctioneering fees are excessive, and my brother Michael Gavin and I should not be charged for same as the beneficiaries on the otherside agreed to waive them. 05/07/13 Marron to Gavin and Linney enclosing copy letter dated 3rd of July, 2013 from T & N McLynn;
Breached the following regulation of the solicitors’ account regulations, 2001: • Regulation 4(2): by failing without delay to pay monies held or controlled by them in respect of outlays not yet disbursed into client account and failing to treat such monies in all respects as client money;
Breached the following regulation of the solicitors’ account regulations, 2001: Regulation 5: by holding monies to which they were beneficially entitled in a client account for longer than three months in respect of outlays already disbursed, or which should have been the subject matter of a bill of costs furnished to the client concerned;
Brought the solicitors profession into disrepute;
Denied my brother Michael Gavin a share in the farming profits, to the extent that my brother was working for nothing over the 9 years in question from October, 2005 through to 2013;
Provided an inadequate professional service and it is not of a quality that could reasonably be expected of a solicitor with regards to the explanation he provides to explain how he arrived at his decision to award the moneys received from the sale of Pat Gavin’s livestock together with the Gross payments received from the Department of Agriculture without deducting any expense for the minding, looking after, feeding and caring for the animals for the nine years from 2005 to 2014;
Delayed making the decision regarding my brother Michael Gavin’s share in the farming profits and rightful share of the grant monies received from the Department of Agriculture until the very end with the draft distribution account that contained countless errors on 18th September, 2014. Michael Gavin was lied to and led to believe that he would be refunded at closing by some of the beneficiaries. Why did Mr. Marren make a decision around March 2013 to accept Michael Gavin’s claim to owning half the livestock and all the sheep? But yet for no logical reason refuses to award him the net amount €116,789.11 due to him out of the Single Payment Entitlements representing my ½ share in the profits from farming the lands, which was also sent to Mr. Marren, Solicitor, on the 5th of December, 2015 for his consideration. There is no good reason why he took advantage of my brother Michael Gavin’s good nature and delayed his decision in this matter until the end;
Squandered the Estate assets by hiring an additional accountant against my wishes at a cost of €8,751.45;
Accounting mistakes and lack of clarity;
Forced me to incur additional unnecessary expenses in drafting documents and letters time and time again to prove my claim;
Not furnished a detailed statement of all the legal costs to his client. Under Section 68 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994 provides for charges to clients. Under these provisions a solicitor should furnish a detailed statement of all the legal costs to his client;
Not furnished a copy of Solicitor T & N McLynn’s Bill of Costs for the handsome fee of €38,941.00;
Provided incorrect invoice for Catherine O’Conner Accountant. Catherine O’Conner’s invoice states Total Amount Due €584.25 while Cash Account dated 18th July, 2014 “Fees paid to Catherine O’ Connor €6,857.25;
Not provided an invoice for William Penrose B.L. or explanation of why his opinion was sought for €1,230.00;
Not provided an invoice for John Dolan Auctioneer and breakdown of the fee he was paid. As I recalls the auctioneer John Dolan did advertise the auction extensively and I recalls full and half page ads appeared in the local newspapers. I would argue that based on the amount of interest and bids made at the auction that these ads served no purpose other than to promote John Dolans Auctioneering service as a whole. I believe that a free mention in the local parish newsletter would have sufficed.
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
Elder abuse may be defined as:
“A single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person or violates their human and civil rights”.
Rights abuse: denying the civil and constitutional rights of a person who is old, but not declared by court to be mentally incapacitated. This is an aspect of elder abuse that is increasingly being recognized and adopted by nations
@MichaelGavin83 Will do for sure! Thanks for sharing it! Let's make it go around as much as we can!
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
A High Court Special Summons was sought to sell the roof over my head among other things.
“By notices in writing Kathleen ‘OKeefe, and Mary Theresa Harte have confirmed their desire to have the house and lands of the estate sold. Nicholas Duffy and his four children have also confirmed that they desire to have the property sold. It is also the wish of the Plaintiff that the property be sold.”
Bearing in mind that they and their Solicitor T & N McLynn, Athlone were well aware that I was entitled to live in the home for the rest of my days per my father’s will which they were all furnished with a copy of. As I recall I was required to attend the high court on 3 separate days, the first of which they did not attend. On the second day I was informed by my barrister Donal Keane B.L. that they were in another room arguing amongst themselves, and then finally we got before the judge on the third day. This is just one of the numerous examples of their vengeful, spiteful behavior where they namely Anne Sanford, Kathleen O’Keefe, Mike Harte, Brenda Harte Waters, Michelle Harte, Philomena Duffy, Patrick Duffy, Catherine Duffy and Noel Duffy squandered the Estate assets.
The beneficiaries Anne Sanford, Wellesley, Mass USA, Kathleen O’Keefe, Glanmire, Cork, Mike Harte,Wellesley, Mass USA, Brenda Harte Waters Quincy, Mass USA, Michelle Harte Wellesley, Mass USA, Philomena Duffy Mayo, Patrick Duffy, Clare, Catherine Duffy, Monksland, Athlone and Noel Duffy, Athlone;
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
Mr Robert Marren Dundonnell
Castle Street, Taughmaconnell,
Mullingar Co. Roscommon.
Co. Westmeath.
Date: 11/07/2015
Mr. Marren,
Further to the letter my brother Michael Gavin and I received from John Glynn, Solicitor Patrick Hogan & Co. on 9th July 2015 which states
“I telephoned Mr. Marren today to enquire why I had not received payment on the basis that absolutely everybody else in the Estate has been paid and his response was that he continued to receive letters from you complaining about fees while threatening to go to the Law Society. He said he was not prepared to pay out my fees while these threats existed.”
The letter also states
“it would appear he will not pay out these fees unless you write him and confirm to him that you are not objecting to my fees and direct him to pay same. If you are not prepared to do so, you will leave me with no choice but to proceed to taxation of costs and then subsequently. I will be obliged to sue Mr. Marren for recovery of my fees. This is grossly unfair situation in that Pat is dead almost ten years. I have not been paid for any of my services rendered either to you or to the Estate over that period.”
Our objections to the above are as follows;
We do not consider our reporting you to the Law Society a threat. We have every right to seek justice for the unjust and unfair way we have been dealt with and taken advantage of considering our age, by you the administrator and the beneficiaries of the Estate to the extent that it constitutes ELDER ABUSE.
In the event that the Law Society of Ireland does not accept that our 8 complaints of inadequate professional services, alleged over charging and misconduct, warrant investigation we have every intention of referring this matter to the independent Adjudicator, the solicitors disciplinary tribunal Dublin , An Garda Síochána and the Health Service Executive HSE. Although this whole matter is a source of embarrassment to us, we will have no hesitation in disclosing same in the public domain, as it is our belief that the general public have a right to be made aware of the events that took place and let them judge for themselves based on the true facts.
While we have every intent of pursuing you vigorously to meet our demands to include recovery of the funds not distributed to us to date, we fail to see the logic to your persistent reluctance to pay Patrick Hogan & Co. in isolation to our efforts to seek justice in this matter, or “threats” as you put it.
This is reminiscent of the manner in which you dealt with paying out our 1/6 share from the sale of the Estate lands. Here again despite our persistent requests you Mr. Robert Marren refused to pay out same until finalising the distribution during the Christmas period 2014-2015, without addressing our objections, and it appears you did same to avoid paying our 1/6 share of the land from auction in isolation to the rest of the estate, notwithstanding the fact that the moneys for same were in your possession nearly 2 years previously. You have yet to provide a reasonable explanation of why you did not “bite the bullet” and pay over the full amount when you Mr. Robert Marren received the funds way back on 27th of May 2013.
Do you not recall that I wrote to you on 11th April 2015 and stated “Please advise us of any outstanding bills, has John Glynn, Hogan & Co. been paid to date, and if not why not.”
I believe this should make it clear to you that there is no objection to Patrick Hogan & Co. fee being paid.
In your response on 22nd April you Mr. Marren state “Mr Tony Mclynn was the Solicitor in High Court proceedings on behalf of some of the parties and was awarded his costs by Order of the High Court as was Hogan & Company.”
Based on your response we felt that the fees to Patrick Hogan & Co. were paid. However if you felt we objected to the fees to Patrick Hogan & Co. why did you not question the issue then.
We have never ever threatened you in any way, and most certainly not in regard to fees to Patrick Hogan & Co.
It would appear to us your reluctance Mr. Marren to paying the fee to Patrick Hogan & Co. in isolation of our “threats” as you put it are just another example of your BULLY BOY TACTICS and we do not appreciate the manner in which you Mr. Marren attempt to force us to concede to your demands by refusing to “pay out Patrick Hogan & Co. fees while these threats exist”.
You may also recall a letter was also sent to your office in Mullingar on 17TH of June 2015 stating the following;
“I take issue with your reluctance to provide a detailed breakdown of how the figure of €40,892.53 representing fees paid to Robert Marren & Co. were arrived at. I also feel I am entitled to a breakdown of all other fees paid out of the Estate funds and who was paid what at closing.
I also take issue with your persistent reluctance to provide the following
Bill of Cost for T & N McLynn, Solicitors, Athlone
Correct invoice for Catherine O’Conner. Her invoice states Total Amount Due €584.25 while Cash Account dated 18th July, 2014 “Fees paid to Catherine O’ Connor €6,857.25.
Invoice for William Penrose B.L. or explanation of why his opinion was sought.
Invoice for John Dolan Auctioneer and breakdown of the handsome fee he was paid.
Answer to “has John Glynn, Hogan & Co. Ballinasloe been paid to date, and if not why not”?
Answer to “has John Glynn, Hogan & Co. Ballinasloe been paid to date, and if not why not”?
Any outstanding bills.”
We have yet to receive a response to that letter above which we sent register post notwithstanding the fact that these questions were posed to you in previous correspondence numerous times prior and regardless we have a right to be furnished with copies of same. You Mr. Robert Marren will note that points 5 and 6 of that letter of 17TH of June 2015, are one in the same and we underlined if not why not”? in an effort to draw your attention to same which apparently you have yet to do.
Why were we not provided with a Bill of Cost for T & N McLynn, Solicitors, Athlone who we were informed was paid their handsome amount of €38,941.00 approximately a year prior to your finalised distribution during the Christmas period 2014-2015.
When exactly was T & N McLynn, Solicitors, Athlone paid and why were they paid in advance of the finalised distribution while you refused to pay our 1/6 share of the land from auction or fees to Patrick Hogan & Co.??
You did not seek our approval for T & N McLynn, Solicitors bill nor did you request if we objected to same after they represented the other side beneficiaries who put the Estate of my late brother Patrick Gavin to enormous legal expense with their High Court Special Summons where they sought to sell the roof over my head among other things.
“By notices in writing Kathleen ‘OKeefe, and Mary Theresa Harte have confirmed their desire to have the house and lands of the estate sold. Nicholas Duffy and his four children have also confirmed that they desire to have the property sold. It is also the wish of the Plaintiff that the property be sold.”
Bearing in mind that the beneficiaries namely Anne Sanford, Kathleen O’Keefe, Mike Harte, Brenda Harte Waters, Michelle Harte, Philomena Duffy, Patrick Duffy, Catherine Duffy and Noel Duffy and their Solicitor T & N McLynn were well aware that Michael Gavin was entitled to live in the home for the rest of his days per his father’s will which they were all furnished with a copy of. As we recall we were required to attend the high court on 3 separate days, the first of which none of the beneficiaries attended. On the second day we were informed by our barrister Donal Keane B.L. that they were in another room arguing amongst themselves, and then finally we got before the judge on the third day. This is just one of the numerous examples of their vengeful, spiteful behaviour where they squandered the Estate assets. Not to mention the inconvenience, and additional expenses that were incurred to hire a man to mind the “Estate Animals” for 3 days, there was no mention of any funds to cover that cost in your finalised distribution.
On another occasion which we kept you update on, we recall one of the beneficiaries Kathleen O’Keefe rushed us into signing a lease agreement on 27th August, 2014 without providing us an opportunity to read over same carefully or to consider the matter. Consequently we were forced to get legal advice in order to amend a number of the conditions including Michael Gavin’s agreement to “having fully restored the lands to grassland by ploughing and reseeding by no later than the 31st of July 2015.” Lands that were never used for tillage, and even if they were who would commit to a short term 1 year lease with that condition. This appears underhanded to us and highlights the inadequate professional service provided by their Solicitor T&N McLynn, Athlone. It is not of a quality that could reasonably be expected of a solicitor and served no purpose other than to force us to incur additional unnecessary expenses for legal advice to draft letters in response to the lease agreement Kathleen O’Keefe tricked me Michael Gavin into signing.
You have not provided the correct invoice for Catherine O’Conner. Her invoice states Total Amount Due €584.25 while Cash Account dated 18th July, 2014 “Fees paid to Catherine O’ Connor €6,857.25.
You did not seek our approval for seeking William Penrose B.L opinion. No Invoice for William Penrose B.L. or explanation of why his opinion was sought.
You did not seek our approval for John Dolan Auctioneer. No Invoice for John Dolan Auctioneer and breakdown of the fee he was paid was provided to us to date. As we recall the auctioneer John Dolan did advertise the auction extensively and I recall full and half page ads appeared in the local newspapers. We would argue that based on the amount of interest and bids made at the auction that these ads served no purpose other than to promote John Dolans Auctioneering service as a whole. To be honest a free mention in the local parish newsletter would have sufficed.
You did not seek our approval for Damien Hannigan & Company Limited Chartered Accountant, Mullingar. Why was he hired against our explicate wishes to oversee the accounts of Catherine O’Conner. He charged in my opinion an excessive fee of €8,751.45 which we consider to be extremely expensive and an unnecessary expense. Although he was hired to oversee the accounts his fee is in excess of Catherine O’Conner’s fee. John Glynn, Solicitor, Patrick Hogan & Co. did not put the Estate to the additional expense of hiring an additional Accountant so it begs the question why did you?
I fail to understand why you now require me to write you and confirm to you that we are not objecting to Patrick Hogan & Co. fees and direct you to pay same. I feel this has being dealt with adequately in previous correspondence as above and I fail to understand your logic as to why this is the only bill out of them all that you require us to approve.
It would appear that there is a personal axe to grind between your own good self and John Glynn, Solicitor, Patrick Hogan & Co. and you have no business drawing us into your personal battles between members of your own profession.
In our opinion it would be more befitting of you to write to each of the beneficiaries namely Anne Sanford, Wesley, Mass USA, Kathleen O’Keefe, Glanmire, Cork, Mike Harte,Wesley, Mass USA, Brenda Harte Waters Quincy, Mass USA, Michelle Harte Wesley, Mass USA, Philomena Duffy Mayo, Patrick Duffy, Clare, Catherine Duffy, Monksland, Athlone and Noel Duffy, Athlone, as I have done and claw back the monies owed to us.
They cannot on the one hand expect to receive the monies from the sale of my late brother Pat Gavin’s livestock together with the gross payments received from the Department of Agriculture, without incurring any expense for the minding, looking after and caring for the animals down through the years.
Catherine O’Conner’s Account Summary 24/02/2012 shows that throughout the entire farming period between 2005 and 2012 the cattle sales came to a figure of €46,589 and the expenses came to a figure of €45,918. Accordingly, the expenses in running the farm were almost equal to the proceeds of sale of livestock. Therefore the profit from the farming operation represented the monies received each year from the Department of Agriculture under the single Payment Scheme, the Disadvantaged Area Scheme and any other Schemes of the Department of Agriculture, less any income tax payable to the state arising out of the farming operation.
We and those we have spoken to in relation to this matter FAIL to see the logic to your reluctance Mr. Robert Marren to see reason in this matter, how do you expect a person to labour for free for 9 years at their own expense and pay vets fees and fodder to fatten cattle so that those THAT DO NOTHING can reap the rewards of the GROSS profits. I Michael Gavin believe with every bone in my body that I am entitled to be paid for the work done and services rendered and monies expended by me in looking after my brother’s livestock from the time my brother died up to the time the animals were sold, this you will appreciate involved the daily herding and looking after the animals to include feeding of the animals in Winter months to include purchase of food stuffs and discharging vets fees etc.
By denying me Michael Gavin a half share in the profits it means that Michael Gavin WAS WORKING FOR NOTHING over the years in question from October, 2005 through to 2013. This is totally unjust and totally unacceptable to us.
We will not accept the present situation which is totally unfair and leaves Michael Gavin without any compensation whatsoever for the time and trouble in looking after the animals on behalf of the estate and also deprives Michael Gavin of any profit he may have earned in the rearing and looking after his own animals.
The detailed breakdown of the net amount €xxx,xxx.11 due to Michael Gavin out of the Single Payment Entitlements representing his ½ share in the profits from farming the lands, was sent to you Mr. Marren, Solicitor, on the 5th of December, 2015 for your consideration. You will note that all that Michael Gavin is looking for is his fair share of the profits in the running of the farm and fair compensation for the work Michael Gavin did in looking after the animals.
It would appear that you Mr. Robert Marren delayed making the decision regarding Michael Gavin’s share in the farming profits and rightful share of the grant monies received from the Department of Agriculture until the very end with the draft distribution account that contained countless errors on 18thSeptember, 2014. Michael Gavin was lied to countless times and led to believe that he would be refunded at closing by some of the beneficiaries. Why did you Mr. Robert Marren make a decision around March 2013 to accept Michael Gavin’s claim to owning half the livestock and all the sheep? But yet for no logical reason refused to award him the net amount €xxx,xxx.11 due to Michael Gavin out of the Single Payment Entitlements representing my ½ share in the profits from farming the lands, which was also sent to you on the 5th of December, 2015 for your consideration. There is no good reason why you took advantage of Michael Gavin’s good nature and delayed his decision in this matter until the end.
You would have received a letter from Michael Gavin on 5th December, 2014 stating;
“If a fair allowance is not made on an agreed basis, I will not give my consent to any distribution account prepared by you. Similarly, my sisters will also have to agree before a distribution account can be finalised and a distribution effected. Accordingly you as Administrator will be unable to distribute the estate unless you can procure agreement between us and, if this agreement is not forthcoming, I am advised the only way you, as Administrator, can be protected is to go back into Court and get a Court Order directing how the estate can be distributed.”
However Mr. Marren you passed the book to us and demanded court proceedings to prevent the distribution in a short space of time over the Christmas period 2014-2015.
We believe that you Mr. Robert Marren should NOT have finalised the distribution without addressing our objections, and it appears you did same to avoid paying our €xx,500 1/6 share of the land from action in isolation to the rest of the estate.
While it would appear that these are matters that can only be dealt with by the court if they cannot be resolved by agreement I believe it should be the Administrator who goes back into Court to get a Court Order directing how the estate can be distributed not the ELDERLYBENEFICIARIES.
It would also appear that Mr. Henry of Tormeys Solicitors, Athlone facilitated you Mr. Marren by not phoning you or writing you immediately as requested by John Glynn Solicitor, (14/01/2015 John Glynn Patrick Hogan & Co. to Tony Henry Tormeys Solicitors, Athlone requesting him to ring and write a short letter to Mr. Marren immediately confirming that he would act in the matter in response to Marren’s threat to effect a distribution of the Estate.) nor did Mr. Henry of Tormeys Solicitors, Athlone inform us, so that we could engage another Solicitor to act on behalf of Michael Gavin and Eileen Linney.
We have difficulty understanding why Mr. Henry of Tormeys Solicitors, Athlone failed to respond to correspondence, including correspondence that was crucial and significant to us.
At a subsequent meeting with Mr. Henry after your closing he estimated that court proceedings to sue you could take up to 3 years with fees in the region of €60,000 to €100,000, and he suggested that I Michael Gavin should take my age (83) into consideration.
It would appear you allowed confusion to arise in relation to the exact disbursement of funds and showed a complete disregard for the interests of the beneficiaries, whom you, Mr. Robert Marren a Solicitor, knew to be ELDERLY, and by your conduct is depriving two of the ELDERLY beneficiaries, of the enjoyment of their share in the estate. You have also forced Michael Gavin and Eileen Linney to incur additional unnecessary expenses in drafting documents and letters time and time again to prove their claim.
“I have no idea why you are sending this material to me or for that matter to other agricultural advisors. This issue is no concern of mine and I would appreciate if you would refrain from attempts to involve me in your dispute.”
“Please forgive me Mr. Fergal Monaghan MSc. for disturbing you with the material, I was merely attempting to alert you and the other agricultural advisors of the fact that I did not receive my rightful share of the grant monies paid down from the Department of Agriculture and as a result I worked for nothing for the 9 years in question. I can a sure you and your agricultural advisor colleagues that the material I sent you namely the letter above was not in anyway an attempt by me to involve yea in my dispute and I do sincerely apologist for giving you that impression” Regards Michael Gavin
@MichaelGavin83 So very, very sorry to read.Have you tried a complaint to Gardai? Or Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal? Keep push 4 justice.
— Dolores-Maxwell.com (@Dolores_Maxwell) July 10, 2015
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
I was lied to and led to believe that I would be refunded at closing by some of the beneficiaries for my time and trouble in looking after the animals. I FAIL to see the logic to their reluctance to see reason in this matter, how do they namely Robert Marren, Solicitor and Administrator for the estate of my late brother Patrick Gavin, T & N McLynn, Solicitors, Athlone, Tony Henry, Tormeys Solicitors, Athlone, and the beneficiaries Anne Sanford, Wellesley, Mass USA, Kathleen O’Keefe, Glanmire, Cork, Mike Harte,Wellesley, Mass USA, Brenda Harte Waters Quincy, Mass USA, Michelle Harte Wellesley, Mass USA, Philomena Duffy Mayo, Patrick Duffy, Clare, Catherine Duffy, Monksland, Athlone and Noel Duffy, Athlone; expect me to labor for free for 9 years at my own expense and pay vets fees and fodder to fatten cattle so that those that do nothing can reap the rewards of the GROSS profits. I believe with every bone in my body that I am entitled to be paid for the work done and services rendered and monies expended by me in looking after my brother’s livestock from the time my brother died up to the time the animals were sold, this you will appreciate involved the daily herding and looking after the animals to include feeding of the animals in Winter months to include purchase of food stuffs and discharging vets fees etc.
By denying me a half share in the profits it means that I WAS WORKING FOR NOTHING over the years in question from October, 2005 through to 2013. This is totally unjust and totally unacceptable to me.
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
I was very disappointed at the way the administrator of the Estate Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar, dealt with the auction of the property the auction aborted and the purchasers did not proceed with the purchase.
The entire lands were offered for sale by public auction on the 22nd of February 2013. The dwelling house and out houses and a small plot surrounding same was excluded from the sale by agreement, having regard to my right of residence therein. There were no bidders at the auction other than Ann Sanford and Myself. My sister Eileen and I pooled our resources and I bid up to €xx0,000 for the farm but ultimately stopped bidding at that figure as I could not afford to go any further and Ann Sanford topped it with a bid of €xx5,000 and was left with the farm at that price.
It would appear that the price which Messrs. Sanford & O’Keeffe agreed to pay to purchase the lands was a gross overvaluation of the lands having regard to the nature, quality and condition of the lands at the time of purchase on 22nd of February, 2013. It would appear that Messrs. Sanford & O’Keeffe had some misgivings about the matter after the auction in that Mrs. O’Keeffe telephoned me in or about the beginning of May, 2013 advising me that the lands were to be put up for sale and I was to have first option to purchase same. However, this did not take place and instead, it would appear that Messrs. Sanford & O.Keeffe got the reaming of the next of kin, namely Theresa Harte, and the Duffy family to disclaim/release their shares in the deceased’s Estate to them, so that effectively, allowances were made for them to simply buy out my sister Eileen’s and my share in the property at the value of the property as determined at the Auction. Mr. Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar was reluctant to resolve the issue in isolation to the rest of the Estate although he had the monies in his possession on 27th of May, 2013.
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
On 5th December, 2014 I wrote to Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar and told him that If a fair allowance was not made, on an agreed basis, I would not give him my consent to any distribution account prepared by him. I advised him that unless he could procure agreement between all the beneficiaries he would have to return to Court to get a Court Order directing how the estate could be distributed.
However Mr. Robert Marren passed the book to me and demanded court proceeding to prevent the distribution of the estate. He provided a very limited period, over the Christmas Period December/January 2014/2015 for me to obtain these proceedings and showed a complete disregard for my interests as a beneficiary. Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, knew I was elderly, in my mid eighties, and by his conduct was depriving me of the enjoyment of their share in the estate;
While these are matters that can only be dealt with by the court if they cannot be resolved by agreement I believe it should be the Administrator who goes back into Court to get a Court Order directing how the estate can be distributed not the elderly beneficiaries.
Mr. Tony Henry of Tormeys Solicitors was given verbal instructions over the phone before Christmas and written instructions thereafter by our family solicitor.
However It would also appear that Mr. Tony Henry of Tormeys Solicitors, Athlone also facilitated Mr. Robert Marren by not phoning him or writing him immediately as requested by our family Solicitor, nor did he inform us, so that we could engage another Solicitor to act on our behalf to seek an extension and or prevent Mr. Marren’s closing with no regard for our objections. It would appear that Tony Henry of Tormeys Solicitors in addition to Mr. Robert Marron also does not possess the quality that could reasonably be expected of a solicitor.
Complaints of inadequate professional services, alleged over charging and misconduct were subsequently made to the Law Society of Ireland for Mr. Robert B Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar.
Complaints of inadequate professional services that are not of a quality that could reasonably be expected of a solicitor and misconduct by tending to bring the solicitors profession into disrepute were made to the Law Society of Ireland for Tony Henry, Tormeys Solicitor, Athlone.
@MichaelGavin83 So very, very sorry to read.Have you tried a complaint to Gardai? Or Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal? Keep push 4 justice.
— Dolores-Maxwell.com (@Dolores_Maxwell) July 10, 2015
Please Support Michael Gavin Elderly 83 Year Old Irish Farmer by Signing Petition
With Mr. Robert Marren administrator for the estate
Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor allowed confusion to arise in relation to the exact disbursement of funds held by him;
Grossly delayed, without reasonable explanation, the administration of the estate, the deceased person having died in 2005 some ten years ago;
Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor showed a complete disregard for the interests of the beneficiaries, whom Mr. Marren, Solicitor, knew to be elderly, and by his conduct is depriving two of the beneficiaries, of the enjoyment of their share in the estate;
Provided an inadequate professional service and it is not of a quality that could reasonably be expected of a solicitor. There is no good reason why Mr Marren did not “bite the bullet” and pay over the full 1/6 share when he received the funds way back on 27th of May 2013.
Being reluctant to resolve the issue in isolation to the rest of the Estate;
Not provided the detailed bill of costs to include a detailed breakdown of how the figure of €40,892.53 representing fees paid to Robert Marren & Co. were arrived at;
Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor brought the solicitors profession into disrepute;
Denied me a share in the farming profits, to the extent that I was working for nothing over the 9 years in question from October, 2005 through to 2013;
Provided an inadequate professional service and it is not of a quality that could reasonably be expected of a solicitor with regards to the explanation he provides to explain how he arrived at his decision to award the moneys received from the sale of Pat Gavin’s livestock together with the Gross payments received from the Department of Agriculture without deducting any expense for the minding, looking after, feeding and caring for the animals for the nine years from 2005 to 2014;
Delayed making the decision regarding my share in the farming profits and rightful share of the grant monies received from the Department of Agriculture until the very end with the draft distribution account that contained countless errors on 18th September, 2014. I was lied to countless times and led to believe that I would be refunded at closing by some of the beneficiaries. Why did Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar make a decision around March 2013 to accept my claim to owning half the livestock and all the sheep? But yet for no logical reason refuses to award me the net amount €xxxxx.11 due to me out of the Single Payment Entitlements representing my ½ share in the profits from farming the lands, which was also sent to Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor, Mullingar on the 5th of December, 2015 for his consideration. There is no good reason why he took advantage of my good nature and delayed his decision in this matter until the end;
Mr. Robert Marren, Solicitor squandered the Estate assets by hiring an additional accountant against my wishes at a cost of €8,751.45;
Accounting mistakes and lack of clarity;
Forced me to incur additional unnecessary expenses in drafting documents and letters time and time again to prove my claim;
Not furnished a detailed statement of all the legal costs to his client. Under Section 68 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994 provides for charges to clients. Under these provisions a solicitor should furnish a detailed statement of all the legal costs to his client;
Not furnished a copy of Solicitor T & N McLynn’s Solicitors, Athlone Bill of Costs for the handsome fee of €38,941.00;
Provided incorrect invoice for Catherine O’Conner Accountant. Catherine O’Conner’s invoice states Total Amount Due €584.25 while Cash Account dated 18th July, 2014 “Fees paid to Catherine O’ Connor €6,857.25;
Not provided an invoice for William Penrose B.L. or explanation of why his opinion was sought for €1,230.00;
Not provided an invoice for John Dolan Auctioneer, Ballinasloe, and breakdown of the fee he was paid. As I recalls the auctioneer John Dolan did advertise the auction extensively and I recalls full and half page ads appeared in the local newspapers. I would argue that based on the amount of interest and bids made at the auction that these ads served no purpose other than to promote John Dolans Auctioneering service as a whole. I believe that a free mention in the local parish newsletter would have sufficed.
With Mr. Tony Henry, Tormeys Solictiors, Athlone
Tony Henry, Tormeys Solictiors, Athlone, showed a complete disregard for my instructions known me to be elderly, and by his conduct has deprived my sister Eileen and I the opportunity to have our objections addressed prior to closing, and our 1/6 share of the land from the auction dealt with in isolation to the rest of the estate. Not to mention my share in the farming profits due to me out of the Single Payment Entitlements representing his ½ share in the profits from farming the lands for the 9 years in question;
Tony Henry, Tormeys Solictiors, Athlone, provided an inadequate professional service and it is not of a quality that could reasonably be expected of a Solicitor. There is no good reason why Mr Henry did not at least telephone Mr. Marren in an effort to avoid further proceedings.
At a subsequent meeting with Mr. Henry Solicitor, Athlone after Mr. Marren’s closing, Mr. Tony Henry, Solicitor estimated that court proceedings to sue Mr. Marren Solicitor could take up to 3 years with fees in the region of €60,000 to €100,000, and he suggested that I Michael Gavin should take his age (83) into consideration.
As I recall at our meeting in his office he stated that he could see no fault in Mr. Marren going ahead to finalize the distribution without addressing our objections, namely to pay our €xx,500 1/6 share of the land from the auction in isolation to the rest of the estate. I do recall Mr. Tony Henry, Solicitor stated he would have administered the estate in the same fashion himself, which begs the question why he was still adamant that we should retain his services to sue Mr. Marren, and “put his shoulder to the wheel as he put it.”
He told us he would send us the figures of costs and details in relation to suing Mr. Marren, but he never did.
At the meeting he also agreed to contact us after his call to Marren, Solicitor to let us know how it went.
My Sister Eileen followed up and had to ring Henry numerous times before he finally returned her call weeks after our meeting on the 16th February 2015. She was on a noisy bus at the time and does not recall exactly what Henry said other that he would send a letter with details of costs and what would be involved, but he never did that.
However this letter never arrived, so after waiting about 2 months in or around the end of March My sister Eileen spoke to another Solicitor in Athlone Martin Egan. Martin assisted her to write a letter to disengage Tony Henry, Solicitor, Athlone.
It would appear that Mr. Tony Henry, Tormeys Solictiors, Athlone, provided an inadequate professional service and it is not of a quality that could reasonably be expected of a Solicitor. There is no good reason why Mr Henry, Solicitor, did not at least telephone Mr. Marren in an effort to avoid further proceedings.
Regulation 4(2): by failing without delay to pay monies held or controlled by them in respect of outlays not yet disbursed into client account and failing to treat such monies in all respects as client money;
Regulation 5: by holding monies to which they were beneficially entitled in a client account for longer than three months in respect of outlays already disbursed, or which should have been the subject matter of a bill of costs furnished to the client concerned;
When a solicitor is requested to furnish a detailed bill of costs, the requirements set out in Order 99, Rules of the Superior Courts are relevant. This was confirmed by the High Court in Smyth v. Montgomery.43 Order 99, rule 29(5) requires a bill of costs to adopt the following format: “ Bills of costs are to be prepared with seven separate columns:—
( a ) the first or lefthand column for dates;
( b ) the second for the numbers of the items;
( c ) the third for the particulars of the services charged for;
( d ) the fourth for disbursements;
( e ) the fifth for the Taxing Masters’ deductions from disbursements;
( f ) the sixth for the professional charges;
( g ) the seventh for the Taxing Masters’ deductions from professional charges.” These requirements must be complied with and, in the event that the bill of costs is not within the requisite format, the time allowed for a client to submit the bill for taxation will not begin to run.44
There are important judicial pronouncements regarding the content of bills of costs in contentious matters.45 A solicitor who is required to deliver a detailed bill of costs in a non-contentious matter should heed those decisions regarding the preparation of bills of costs in contentious matters.
Despite the importance attached to their observation, undertakings are a part of everyday practice which many solicitors still tend either to over look or, at best, pay insufficient attention to.
A solicitor’s undertaking is not just an enforceable agreement, it is something the breach of which can give rise to professional regulatory sanctions. Despite this, many solicitors do not realise how easily they can arise and how failing to monitor undertakings given by others within the firm can give rise to problems for the firm as a whole.
It is always worth bearing in mind just how easily they can arise and that if entered into without appropriate thought being given to their terms that the firm can be exposed to significant consequences.
The Regulations on Undertakings
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Handbook defines an undertaking as:
“a statement, given orally or in writing, whether or not it includes the word “undertake” or “undertaking”, made by or on behalf of you or your firm, in the course of practice, or by you outside the course of practice but as a solicitor or REL, to someone who reasonably places reliance on it, that you or your firm will do something or cause something to be done, or refrain from doing something.”
This is a fairly wide ranging definition and encompasses statements which, whilst not intended to create an undertaking, nevertheless do so.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal is composed of 20 solicitor members and nine lay members, the latter being drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds and whose remit is to represent the interests of the general public.
Where the Tribunal decides that a complaint discloses a ‘prima facie’ (i.e. apparent) case of misconduct by a solicitor, there will be an inquiry, with oral evidence, conducted by the Tribunal in public. The procedures of the Tribunal are regulated by the Solicitors Acts, 1954 to 2008 and by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Rules, 2003.
What is misconduct?
“Misconduct” by a solicitor is defined broadly in the Solicitors Acts, 1954 to 2008 and is perhaps best illustrated by specific examples such as breach of undertaking, conflict of interest, misleading a client, failure to reply to communications from a client delay in bringing a case to court and dishonesty.
The majority of complaints that come before the tribunal are at the instance of the Law Society of Ireland, but it is open to members of the public to make a direct application to the tribunal, with or without any previous reference to the Law Society. Assistance is available from the tribunal staff in relation to completing the forms grounding an application.
The procedures before the tribunal are formal in nature and, as the outcome of a hearing may affect the livelihood of a solicitor, the tribunal requires a high standard of proof.
It would appear that there are similarities between what is described in the posts above and the findings of the tribunal
Civil proceedings
On another occasion, the tribunal found, among other things, that there was a clear request from a client to a solicitor for a bill of costs and that such a request, in the view of the tribunal, could not be ignored. The tribunal made an order censuring the respondent, directing him to make restitution of €7,500 to the applicant and to pay a contribution towards the applicant’s expenses. In that case, the tribunal found that there had been misconduct on the part of the respondent in circumstances where it found there was a failure to supply the applicant with an estimate of his costs and, despite repeated requests, the respondent failed without reason or excuse to provide his client, the applicant, with written details of the actual charges. Such conduct fell short of the requisite standard in the profession and amounted to professional misconduct. The applicant also established to the tribunal that there was repeated failure to respond to correspondence, including correspondence that was crucial and significant to the applicant, and the respondent had failed to give the tribunal any or any adequate explanation for this.”
Some grounds on which professional misconduct was found
Civil claims
• Failing expeditiously, within a reasonable time or at all, to pay over the balance of settlement compensation to the complainant, despite having been paid by the defendant’s insurance company,
• Failing to carry out the client’s instructions to prosecute his case,
• Causing delay to such an extent that his case was dismissed,
• Exposing his client to an award of costs by his inordinate delay,
• Failing to act in the best interests of his client,
• Failing to discharge expeditiously, within a reasonable time or at all, the complainant’s fees given on behalf of the respondent’s client in a personal injuries/loss of earnings claims, despite having been paid the costs by the defendant’s insurance company, and
• By omission, misrepresenting or allowing to be misrepresented the position in relation to the recovery of costs for the clients from the defendant’s insurers.
Retaining fees in the client account for periods well in excess of three months, in breach of regulation 5(2),
Michael – you have 249 views already – all many of us can do is keep tweeting and sharing on facebook for you – God Bless you and I felt the pain inside you when you said “I worked from 14 years to help rear them all” – that statement tells a story within a story – Well done to you and the dear people around you who are supporting you like this “The Quiet Man now speaks out with a Roar and a Thunder that will leave no Stone Unturned”
Mick Wallace currently has 15.6K twitter followers
Mick Wallace retweets to 15,600+ followers
Dear Sir,
I received, as did many others, your email in relation to the administration of the estate of your late brother Pat Gavin. I have retired as a Solicitor for some years but I have no record of you ever consulting me in relation to this matter. Your sister Eileen did mention it to me some years ago and I told her I was not prepared to act or otherwise get involved.
I would appreciate if you would not correspond with me further or include me in your mailing list in relation to this matter.
Yours faithfully,
Aiden O’Carroll
Irish Echo Newspaper has 7,316 Followers!
“Oh it gets better… My partner teaches older people computers and she’s going to get each days class to read your blog from tomorrow on”
“Truly shocking article. Your meticulous recording of the events is wonderful. They have underestimated you. I wish you a speedy resolution.”
The Law Society is a jokeJustice 4 Elderly Farmer Michael GavinAfter receiving backdated/falsified documents from John White, Managing Partner of Beauchamps Solicitors, and a different version provided to the other residual beneficiaries by Joseph Bowe, with the exception of myself . And after advising Beauchamps Solicitors’ partners of this and who took no apparent action, I complained to The Law Society. Even with drawing its attention to the two different versions in its possession, The Law Society basically said there was no problem. In making a follow up complaint they decided the case was closed. The next step would be the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. I’d taken that route before, but it too lacks accountability/independence and transparency. I’ve since filed a criminal complaint. My mom’s story and the lack of justice afforded her, her estate and her children is posted online at:www.dolores-maxwell.com
@LawrenceTReilly@MichaelGavin83 considering #EU wanted to avoid contagion keeping Greek banks closed affects France, Spain & Italian bnks
“I have no idea why you are sending this material to me or for that matter to other agricultural advisors. This issue is no concern of mine and I would appreciate if you would refrain from attempts to involve me in your dispute.”
“Shocking corruption exposed by elderly farmer. This is rural Ireland 2015. You won’t see it on 6.01 News. Read here:”
The majority of complaints that come before the tribunal are at the instance of the Law Society of Ireland, but it is open to members of the public to make a direct application to the tribunal, with or without any previous reference to the Law Society. Assistance is available from the tribunal staff in relation to completing the forms grounding an application.
Mick Wallace retweets to 15,600+ followers
Justice 4 U Michael Gavin 
