Law firm was never retained by Lynch family over €25m loan deal, court told

A LAW firm being sued by businessman Philip Lynch and his family in an effort to prevent AIB pursuing them for repayment of a €25 million development loan was never retained by the Lynches in connection with that deal and owed no duty of care to them, the Commercial Court was told yesterday.

Michael Cush, counsel for Matheson Ormsby Prentice Solicitors, said the firm was never retained by the Lynch family in connection with the €25m loan issued to the family and developer Gerry Conlan to buy development lands in Waterford and never advised the family concerning the transaction.

It was “absolute crucial” to the case that the Lynches themselves never claimed Matheson Ormsby Prentice was retained by them and, in those circumstances, it was “absolutely untenable” in those circumstances for the Lynches to allege Matheson Ormsby Prentice owed them a duty of care.