226 / 244
will ” and
(b)
as “ dog goodwill.” In the case o f “ cat
goodwill ” the practice o f the profession has been and
is to charge the scale fee on the whole consideration
including the value o f the goodwill. The Council
was o f the opinion that this practice is in accordance
with the law notwithstanding English decisions cited
in costs text-books. These decisions are based on
the English Solicitors’ Remuneration General Orders
the terms of which are different to those o f Solicitors’
Remuneration General Order, 1884.
Cost o f lease and building agreement
A client took a lease of a site for a long term at a
yearly rent o f £22, and entered into a contract
with a builder to build a residence on the site. The
Council were asked to express an opinion as to the
method o f calculation o f the costs of
(a)
a lease and
(b)
the building agreement. In the opinion o f the
Council (
a
) the costs o f the lease should be drawn
as costs o f a long lease not at a rack rent, the fee
being charged on the amount o f the rent;
(b)
the
charges for the building contract would be taxed
in accordance with the old method as altered by
Schedule 2 of S.R.G.O., 1884, as amended. The
scale fee applicable to a purchase could not be
charged in respect o f the building price but, in the
opinion o f the Council, a bulk fee by way o f instruc
tion bearing some relation to the building price
might reasonably be charged in addition to the
item charges for drawing or approving of the
building agreement. The measure o f the solicitor s
liability for damages for negligence or mistake would
be the amount expended by the client and the item
charges alone would not remunerate the solicitor
for this responsibility.
Mortgage. Costs o f solicitor for mortgagor
and purchaser.
T
he
Council considered and adopted a report from
Committee on the following question. Where a
solicitor acts for a client who has to obtain a loan
to enable him to complete a purchase, is the
solicitor entitled to the full scale fee on the mortgage
as well as the scale fee on the puchase price o f the
premises ? The Committee was o f the opinion
that the solicitor for the mortgagor is entitled to
the scale fee on the purchase and the scale fee
on the mortgage. It would not however be
undercutting to make a reasonable reduction in the
amount o f the mortgagor’ s solicitor’ s scale fee having
regard to the fact that the purchase and mortgage
are contemporaneous.
13TH M
arch
, 1952. T
he
President in the Chair.
Also present: Messrs. Desmond R. Counahan,
and Gerald J. O’Donnell, Vice-Presidents, William
J . Norman, Derrick M. Martin, James J.
O’Connor, Ralph J. Walker, John J. Sheil,
Patrick R. Boyd, Francis J. Lanigan, John J.
Nash, John B. McCann, John R. Halpin, James
R. Quirke, Joseph P. Tyrrell, Thomas A. O’Reilly,
Cuthbert J. Furlong, Maurice M. Power, John
Maher, Dermot P. Shaw, Joseph Barrett, John
Carrigan, Reginald J. Nolan, George G. Overend,
Patrick F. O ’Reilly.
New Member o f the Council
T
h e
President welcomed Mr. John Maher
w h o
came on the Council in place of the late Mr. William
S. Huggard.
The following was among the business trans
acted :—
Solicitors’ Remuneration Land Registration
Rules, 1937, as amended.
On a report from a committee it was decided to
apply to the Land Registration Rules Committee
for the following amendments to the rules :—
(a)
Item charges under the old system as altered
by Schedule
2
should be increased by 55 per
cent. over the prewar scale instead o f the
present increase o f 33J per cent.
(,
b)
Rule 1 1 S.R.G.O., 1884, should be rescinded
in its application to registered land.
(c)
Provisions similar to those o f S.R.G.O., 1951,
should be made in regard to a lease o f
registered land at a rack rent.
(d)
The scale fee on sales and purchases o f
registered land where equities have not been
discharged should be a flat rate o f 4 per cent,
on the purchase money instead o f the present
rate o f 4 per cent, on the first £1,000 descend
ing to 15 /- per cent, on the portion o f the
purchase price exceeding
£10,000.
The scale
fee on sales and purchases of registered land,
equities discharged, should be on a flat rate
o f 3 per cent, on the purchase money instead
o f the present sliding scale o f 2 per cent, on
the first
£1,000
to 7 /6d. per cent, on the
portion o f the purchase price exceeding
£10,000.
The Secretary was directed to prepare the sub
mission.
Formation o f limited companies. Respective
functions o f solicitor and accountant.
T
h e
Council considered the following circular
letter from the Institute o f Chartered Accountants
proposed to be sent by the Institute to its members:—
“ The Council has had under consideration the