Brendan Burgess
Founder
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In the [broken link removed] yesterday, the MD of Scotchstone Capital tried to represent the company in an action against the state. He was barred from doing so and told he must get a lawyer, although he had been quoted €850k for the cost of the case and no lawyer would do it on a success only basis.
This is crazy and needs to be changed, even if it requires a referendum.
Brendan
Patrick McCann SC, for the Minister, said it appeared Scotchstone, while suffering an unrealised loss of €200,000, still had funds in securities of some €100,000 and it could hire lawyers if it “cut its cloth to suit its measure”. The law here clearly provided a company must be represented by a lawyer and cannot be represented by a managing director, shareholder or other officer of the company, he submitted.
Mr Justice Feeney said he was bound by a Supreme Court decision of 1968 (the Battle case) which found a limited company could not be represented in court proceedings by an officer of that company. The claim of inability-to- pay-lawyers did not constitute a rare and exceptional circumstance allowing Mr Skoczylas to represent the company, he added.
This is crazy and needs to be changed, even if it requires a referendum.
Brendan