HIGH COURT Taxing Master Charles Moran has struck out objections from counsel to his ruling on legal costs in a case where he had cut the bill by 82 per cent.
Last month Mr Moran, the High Court official who adjudicates on disputed legal costs, reduced the overall bill from €2.143 million to €394,472 in a case between a factory worker and the Personal Injuries Assessment Board.
Declan O’Brien, who had suffered an injury at work, took judicial review proceedings against the board’s policy of not allowing claimants to it to be represented by a solicitor. He won the case in the High Court and this was upheld by the Supreme Court. Costs were awarded against the board.
Before the Taxing Master’s ruling is finalised, lawyers are entitled to lodge objections to his assessment. Mr O’Brien’s solicitors, Patrick V Boland, Newbridge, Co Kildare, lodged objections on behalf of the firm and of counsel in the case.
In June Mr Moran reduced the brief fees for Paul Gardiner SC and Harry Whelehan SC in the High Court hearing to €25,000 each from €110,000. Barrister Dan Boland had his brief-fee claim of €75,000 reduced to €16,670 and barrister Cormac McNamara had his brief-fee claim of €75,000 reduced to zero. Patrick V Boland had its instruction fee reduced to €86,000 from €975,000.
The Supreme Court instruction fee for the solicitors was reduced to €46,000 from €100,000.
Mr Gardiner’s brief fee for the Supreme Court was reduced to €30,000 from €100,000, while Mr McNamara’s was reduced to €20,000 from €75,000 claimed.
When the case came before Mr Moran for mention, Shane O’Donnell of legal costs accountants Connolly Lowe, instructed by Patrick V Boland, said he had been instructed to seek the striking out of the objections in relation to the counsel aspect of the fees in both the High Court and the Supreme Court. Asked if the objections to the instruction fee aspect still stood, he said it did.
Mr Moran adjourned the matter until October and asked for submissions on the instruction fee aspect of the objections to be filed.