Farmers left unpaid by the liquidation of EP Nugent Ltd, the company operating Castleblayney Mart, are seeking advice from a specialised lawyer before launching potential legal action against the regulatory body overseeing auctioneers.
At a meeting on Monday, the IFA offered to cover the cost of a legal opinion from senior counsel involved in a high-profile 1990s case focusing on the “duty of care” of public authorities.
Local solicitor Paul McCormack read from six letters the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) sent to EP Nugent Ltd before and after it lost its licence on 19 February 2017.
Listen to "Castleblayney mart creditors seek legal advice" on Spreaker.
Prosecution
The PSRA threatened prosecution and advised the company it was “in breach of the Property Services Regulation Act.” Yet EP Nugent Ltd ran sales at the mart until its collapse more than one year later. “There was negligence,” McCormack said. “There was a duty of care.”
If the second opinion supports his view, he said he could bring a test case to court. Normal compensation through a PSRA fund is not accessible to farmers who sold stock through the mart after February 2017.
“Where a property service provider was previously licensed in the past, it may be the case that some clients of the then licensed property service provider may have a claim on the fund if their losses were incurred while the company was licensed,” a PSRA spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.
This may cover farmers who paid deposits on land sales before EP Nugent Ltd lost its licence.
Read more
Farmers seek legal advice on Castleblayney mart debt
Listen: farmers and marts regulator set to clash over Castleblayney
Regulator knew about insolvent mart – IFA
Valid licence held by 98% of marts
Listen: over 100 farmers owed money in mart collapse
Farmers left unpaid by the liquidation of EP Nugent Ltd, the company operating Castleblayney Mart, are seeking advice from a specialised lawyer before launching potential legal action against the regulatory body overseeing auctioneers.
At a meeting on Monday, the IFA offered to cover the cost of a legal opinion from senior counsel involved in a high-profile 1990s case focusing on the “duty of care” of public authorities.
Local solicitor Paul McCormack read from six letters the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) sent to EP Nugent Ltd before and after it lost its licence on 19 February 2017.
Listen to "Castleblayney mart creditors seek legal advice" on Spreaker.
Prosecution
The PSRA threatened prosecution and advised the company it was “in breach of the Property Services Regulation Act.” Yet EP Nugent Ltd ran sales at the mart until its collapse more than one year later. “There was negligence,” McCormack said. “There was a duty of care.”
If the second opinion supports his view, he said he could bring a test case to court. Normal compensation through a PSRA fund is not accessible to farmers who sold stock through the mart after February 2017.
“Where a property service provider was previously licensed in the past, it may be the case that some clients of the then licensed property service provider may have a claim on the fund if their losses were incurred while the company was licensed,” a PSRA spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.
This may cover farmers who paid deposits on land sales before EP Nugent Ltd lost its licence.
Read more
Farmers seek legal advice on Castleblayney mart debt
Listen: farmers and marts regulator set to clash over Castleblayney
Regulator knew about insolvent mart – IFA
Valid licence held by 98% of marts
Listen: over 100 farmers owed money in mart collapse
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