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GAZETTE
SEPTEMBER 1978,
Correspondence
ADJUDICATION FOR STAMP DUTY
Office of the Revenue
Commissioners
Dublin Castle,
Dublin 2.
13 September, 1978.
J. J. Ivers, Esq.,
Director General,
The Law Society,
Blackhall Place,
Dublin 7.
Dear Mr. Ivers,
I refer to your recent representations concerning delays
in dealing with cases lodged for adjudication for the
purposes of Stamp Duties.
Following your earlier representations certain staff
adjustments were made in this area. You will be glad to
hear that the arrears has been reduced from a peak of
approximately 4,300 cases in March last to a current
level of 1,500. The delay in dealing with cases has been
reduced from approximately 5 months to 10 weeks. I
agree that the position is not yet satisfactory but
considerable progress has already been made and, in the
absence of uniforseen circumstances, the arrears should be
disposed of by the end of this year. You will appreciate
that the training of new staff in a technical area is,
necessarily, a slow process.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. O'Connor,
Commissioner.
SOLICITORS RESPONSIBILITY FOR COUNSELS
DELAY
12, South Mall,
Cork.
22nd September, 1978
Dear Sir,
An English decision of the 14th July, 1978 might be of
interest to Practitioners. In
Mainzs
v.
James & Charles
Dodd
it was held that solicitors who took six months to
obtain Counsel's Opinion in relation to a pending action
which was dismissed for want of prosecution were guilty
of inexcusable and inordinate delay and accountable for
the part of the delay caused by Counsel.
The exact duty of a solicitor to his client depended
upon what he was employed to do but he was always
expected to exercise a reasonable degree of care, skill and
knowledge in whatever he did. In particular, in a stale
action he must act expeditiously to protect his client's
action against being struck out by reason of delay caused
by the solicitors neglect.
The Defendants were accountable not only for their
part but also for that of Counsel. When Counsel was
dilatory in dealing with instructions in stale actions
solicitors should in the interest of their clients withdraw
those instructions and pass them to another Counsel for a
more ready response.
The total of inexcusable and inordinate delay after
giving full credit to what the Defendants did faultlessly
and in time was about six months. This was a long time in
the circumstances and the Plaintiff's case was fully
approved.
Yours sincerely,
Rory F. Conway.
THE LAW SOCIETY
Vacancy for
Assistant Examiner
in Conveyancing
Applications are invited not later than 17th November,
1978 for the post of:
Assistant Examiner In Conveyancing
Particulars may be obtained from:
DIRECTOR GENERAL,
The Law Society,
Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.
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