Couple sues Dolmen for €1m

A COUPLE and their company have sued Dolmen Stockbrokers for more than €1 million losses allegedly incurred through unauthorised use of the plaintiffs’ securities trading accounts to enter into transactions for Dolmen’s own benefit.

It is further alleged the stockbrokers failed to provide indemnities.

Patrick Purcell claims he agreed to enter into a series of transactions between 2006 and 2008 on behalf of the plaintiffs as a result of emotional pressure and/or undue influence placed upon him by Dolmen director Stephen Tynan.

He claims Mr Tynan assured him the plaintiffs would be indemnified against any losses suffered as a result but to date had failed to do so and, as a result, the plaintifs had suffered losses of more than €855,000.

It is also claimed Dolmen, through Mr Tynan, entered into a series of unauthorised transactions using the plaintiffs’ accounts in which shares in companies were purchased and sold without the plaintiffs’ prior knowledge, consent or instruction.

It is claimed the plaintiffs suffered some €350,000 losses as a result of allegedly unauthorised dealings in shares of several companies, including Transeuro Energy and Royal Bank of Scotland. Mr Tynan had failed to abide by the relevant trading rules and regulations, counsel for the plaintiffs said.

Counsel for Patrick and Audrie Purcell, Victoria Lodge, Victoria Road, Killiney, Co Dublin, and Purcell Brothers, Herbert Street, Dublin 2, applied yesterday for the case to be admitted to the fast-track Commercial Court.

However, Mr Justice Peter Kelly refused to transfer it after finding the case had not demonstrated the urgency required for admission to the Commercial Court, whose lists, he noted, were growing by the month. The decision means the case will proceed through the ordinary High Court list. The judge said his decision did not prevent the parties availing of Commercial Court procedures in that list.

In opposing transfer, Rossa Fanning, for Dolmen, said it had taken the plaintiffs some eight months to compile the statement of claim and his side would also need considerable time to set out a detailed defence. This was a claim for trading losses and these were “two a penny” as many people would like an indemnity from their stockbrokers over what has gone wrong in the last two years, counsel remarked.

The plaintiffs claim they maintained security trading accounts with Dolmen, with registered ofices at St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2. Mr Purcell claims he opened a security trading account with Dolmen in 2006.