The Gazette 1989

GAZETTE

APRIL 1989

Practice Notes

proceeds of sale whether they had been fees of an Auctioneer/Estate Agent, Engineer or otherwise. • Professional Purposes Committee Sale by Private Treaty I sue of Contracts to Auctioneers The Professional Purposes Com- mittee has been considering the prevalent practice of Solicitors sending out to Auctioneers copies of contracts for sale where premises are for sale by private treaty and not by auction. It appears that Auctioneers fre- quently seek contracts from the Vendors' Solicitors in order to be in a position to have them completed by purchasers once a sale has been agreed. The Committee considers that the best interests of the public and Solicitors duty are not served by the existence of this practice which does not allow a Purchaser's Solicitor a reasonable opportunity or considering the pre-contract title which is being offered before advising his client as to whether he should proceed to complete the contract. There must also be some doubt as to whether a purchaser who executes a contract presented to him by an Auctioneer, without having had the opportunity either personally or through a solicitor of inspecting the title documents referred to in the first schedule of the standard form of contract, would be bound thereby. The committee considers that a party to a sale should have an opportunity of having the Contract vetted by a Solicitor before executing same and recommends that in Private Treaty Sales the practice (where it exists) of sending out copies of contracts to Auctioneers be discontinued. • Professional Purposes Committee Medical Negligence Panel (Ophthalmologists) Members are referred to a Practice Note which was issued in the November 1987 issue of the Society's Newsletter indicating that the Society considered the scheme offered by the Faculty of Ophthalmology to be unsatis- factory and that the Society no

longer recommended the scheme to its members. The scheme required the instruction of three Ophthalmologists before a report would issue in a case of alleged medical negligence. The Society has since entered into corre- spondence with the Irish Ophthal- mologics! Society and that Society has agreed to operate a panel of Expert Witnesses in medical negligence cases on the basis that a single expert witness would be nominated. However, in exceptional cases an expert witness would have recourse to further opinions if he required them. The basis on which the panel will operate is that Professor L. Collum will act as a liaison for the panel within the Royal College of Surgeons. The College has now furnished the panel to the Society. If members require the name of an expert witness in this field they are recommended to contact Miss Anna Hegarty, Secretary of the Litigation Committee. • Litigation Committee Practice Direction The attention of practitioners is directed to the changes effected by Rules of the Superior Courts (No. 2) 1989 (S.I. No 20 of 1989] with effect from 13th February 1989. 1. Setting down - [0.36 r. 2(b)] Country Venues

Deposits in sale generally

The Incorporated Law Society of Ireland General Conditions of Sale provide that in a .sale by Auction and a sale by Private Treaty, the deposit monies are to be paid to the Vendors' Solicitor as stakeholder. It is the practice, in some instances, for the Vendors' Auctioneer or Estate Agent to hold the whole or part of the deposit monies pending the completion of the transaction. In these instances, the Vendors' Solicitor and the Purchasers' Solicitor must advise their respective clients of the provisions of the Contract for Sale relating to deposits and take instructions on whether or not the Auctioneer/Estate Agent is to hold any part of the deposit monies, pending the completion of the transaction. The Vendors' and Purchasers' Solicitor must also advise their clients of the risk to the deposit monies in the event of the Auctioneer/Estate Agent becoming insolvent; in this regard it should be noted that Auctioneers and Valuers who are members of the IAVI attract the protection of the IAVI Compensation Fund. Clients should also be advised that further pro- tection may be afforded by having the Auctioneer/Estate Agent hold the monies in his possession as stakeholder. It must be emphasised that if the instructions received vary the General Conditions of Sale relating to deposits, the contract should be altered to reflect those instructions. The Professional Purposes Com- mittee feels that it would be good and prudent for a Solicitor to obtain an irrevocable authority and instruction from a client prior to discharging any outlays from the

Personal Injuries and Fatal Injuries actions may be set down for trial by a judge only at 7 country venues - Waterford is now added. Circuit Appeals (i) Notice of Appeal (for Dublin sittings) is to be lodged directly in the Central Office particulars of service (Court fees £17). The time for appeal is 10 days from the date of the Circuit Court Order, a certified copy of which may (Notice Office) indorsed with

2. [0.61 r. 3(a)]

be lodged later. (ii) Two books of appeal with a

[0.61 r. 4]

131