Three siblings have obtained a High Court order preventing their sister from dissipating part of the proceeds of the family home which was sold for €665,000.
Jacqueline Byrne, Patricia Hyslop and Kathleen Kerrigan claim their sister, Anne Grant Arnold, allegedly fraudulently procured title to the house at Casino Road, Marino, Dublin, by allegedly having title transferred into her name before their mother died in Anne's UK home in June 2021.
On Tuesday, the three sisters were granted an injunction by Mr Justice Liam Kennedy preventing Ms Grant Arnold from reducing her unencumbered equity in cash or other assets in this jurisdiction below €135,000 pending hearing of the entire dispute between them.
The judge also rejected an application by Ms Grant Arnold to dismiss their proceedings as having no basis or being brought too late.
The house originally belonged to their father Patrick, who died intestate in 1990, meaning that his five children, including a brother who is not involved in the litigation, were entitled collectively to a one-third share in the estate.
The other two-thirds went to their mother Mary, who became the registered owner of the house after a grant of administration on her husband's estate was obtained in 1999.
In 2007, the house was transferred to the joint names of the siblings' mother and Anne, who now lives in Gloucestershire in the UK.
In a 2017 will, the mother said her wish was that Ms Grant Arnold would inherit the property, and in 2018, she tansferred the entire ownership to Ms Grant Arnold.
Sale
When the house went on the market after their mother's death, the three sisters brought proceedings against Ms Grant Arnold, represented by Andew Walker SC and Liam Bell BL, instructed by Dermot McNamara & Co Solicitors.
The three claimed they had an equitable interest in the property and that Ms Grant Arnold fraudulently procured the title to it.
Ms Grant Arnold denied the claims and asserted that her sisters signed disclaimers saying they had no interest in their father's estate, before it had been registered in their mother's name.
Mr Justice Kennedy said the three sisters denied signing disclaimers.
Their solicitor brought in a handwriting expert who concluded it was probable that Ms Hyslop had not signed one, and it was strongly probable that Ms Kerrigan had also not done so, he said. The expert could not make a conclusion in regard to Ms Byrne's disclaimer.
The judge said while Ms Grant Arnold later admitted she herself had had prepared all the disclaimers for execution, an earlier affidavit she swore gave the impression that they were prepared by or at the instigation of the solicitor dealing with the estate and that he had corresponded with the siblings to secure their agreement.
The judge said Ms Grant Arnold provided minimal detail as to the circumstances of the disclaimers.
She also did not sufficiently explain her change of stance when the handwriting expert provided his report or the failure of previous correspondence and affidavits to exhibit the belatedly produced documentation.
He said Ms Grant Arnold did not explain her own role in meetings or communications with the lawyer handling her father’s estate.
Admission
Although she previously denied any involvement, she now admits that she drafted the disclaimers, apparently along the lines of the post-it note, the judge said. She also did not explain why Ms Byrne, who lived close by, did not attend the meetings with the solicitor handling the father's estate.
In relation to a denial by Ms Kerrigan that she "knowingly" executed a disclaimer, Ms Grant Arnold "belatedly volunteered" that she accompanied her mother to Derry to visit Ms Kerrigan and that she was present when the disclaimer was signed, he said.
The judge said she did not furnish details of the meeting, how and why it was arranged, or how the document was explained to Ms Kerrigan. There was also no reference to independent legal advice.
The three sisters say the original transfer was fraudulent, tainting subsequent transactions. They also say that when their mother, and subsequently Ms Grant Arnold, became the registered owners, they held the respective interests of the three sisters on trust.
The judge said he considered that such a claim "is arguable as matters stand".
The sisters also have an arguable position that key facts only became known to them at different stages between 2019 and 2021.
"Indeed, the defendant’s controversial role in the disclaimers only emerged during these applications," he said.
The three sisters were not asserting a right of recourse against the entire €665,000 proceeds. The judge thought it sufficient to stipulate a figure of €135,000, below which assets should not be reduced pending trial.
