A woman has claimed in the High Court that part of her family's estate was sold for some €2.9 million less than could have been achieved.
Aideen Doyle, otherwise Clodagh White, Coliemore Road, Dalkey, Dublin, has brought the claim against Niamh and Derval White, both of Mount Anville Road, Goatstown, Dublin, as administrators of the estate of their mother, Emily G White.
They are all members of the family of Kevin and Emily White, who lived at “Chimes”, Mount Anville Road, with their seven children.
Emily White died in April 2001. Other children include retired High Court judge Barry White.
Ms Doyle claims she had been told by a number of people she had been fostered to the Whites and was treated as a member of the family but she says she was not the natural daughter of Emily and Kevin White.
She claims when part of Emily White’s family home property, “Chimes” on Mount Anville Road, was sold by tender in March 2007 by Niamh and Derval White, they accepted a €16.1 million offer when €19 million was on offer from developer Niall Mellon.
Several other big developers had expressed an interest in buying the prime south Dublin lands, the court heard.
Mellon offer
Ms Doyle says she sustained a loss of €414,285 which she would have got as her share of the €2.9 million extra that should have been obtained had the administrators accepted the Mellon offer.
She claims the defendants negligently managed the disposal of the family property or to take expert advice retained by them as to the acceptance or rejection of the €19 million.
The claims are denied.
The defendants say Ms Doyle is the daughter of Emily and Kevin White but deny her claim she was paid €1.2 million from the estate in 2002.
The court heard there had been no contact between Ms Doyle and the rest of the family for years.
The sisters deny they rejected advice on the sale and say the eventual agreed price was in fact €16.45 million.
They deny a €19 million offer was received or that Ms Doyle suffered a loss over the difference with the alleged higher price.
Ms Doyle, under cross-examination, told the court she had copyright to a work of fiction called A Web of Deceit using a pseudonym and which she got some bookshops to stock a small number of copies
She agreed it was about six siblings, including a fictional High Court judge who was involved in fraud. She insisted it was a work of fiction.
She also agreed she had a web blog called Nemesis 1 in which she asked certain questions of Derval and Barry White.
The case was adjourned by Mr Justice Richard Humphreys until next week for mention.