A woman has lost an appeal over her claim she did not get her full quarter share of her father's IR£243,000 (€308,000) estate after he died 36 years ago when she was 17.
Catriona Cunniffe, who is in her late 40s, also claimed her brother Michael and sister Martina had reneged on an agreement that she would be entitled to reside for as long as she wanted in their former family home at Lisdeligney, Killimor, Ballinasloe, Co Galway and that, as a result, she suffered personal injury.
Their father, farmer Patrick Joseph Cunniffe, died intestate in September 1987. He was predeceased by his wife and the couple had four children.
The net value of the estate was IR£243,870, the bulk of it comprising the residential farm, valued at IR£91,000 and some IR£126,000 in deposits and financial investments.
Catriona was the youngest and Martina, at 21 was the eldest and became administrator of the estate. Michael took over the running of the farm and was assisted by his brother Padraic, until Padraic moved to London.
Catriona completed her Leaving Cert after her father's death and went to UCG where she got a BA with her fees paid by Michael who also provided an allowance during term time.
Claimed breach of duty
In 2016, Catriona brought High Court proceedings against Martina and Michael claiming, among other things, breach of duty, breach of the Succession Act and negligent misstatement and/or misrepresentation about the estate when she was a minor.
While, at the time following the death, Catriona said it was agreed within the family that it would have been their father's wish that Michael get the farm, she was always assured by both Michael and Martina that she would be entitled to full access to the family home.
Catriona said she looked forward, through her teens, twenties, and thirties, to getting back to the family home and looked upon it as her primary residence until 2004.
However, over a long period of time she said she felt less and less welcomed and around 2003 Michael disconnected the house's water supply and removed the solid fuel range cooker, making the house uninhabitable.
Vegetarian
Catriona, who was a vegetarian, also said Michael attacked her core values by hanging carcasses of butchered deer and sheep in the old back kitchen. She moved to Craughwell, Galway, in 2004.
In their defences, Michael and Martina both denied her claims and argued she brought the case outside the legal time limit imposed by the Statute of Limitations.
Martina also denied information on the administration was withheld and said Catriona had never expressed disquiet or dissatisfaction as to the administration of the estate prior to the institution of her legal action.
Just before Martina got married in 1995 (she now uses her married name Martina Whyte), a "deed of family settlement" was drawn up to try to finalise the estate and whereby the farm was formally transferred to Michael.
Martina's solicitor told the High Court that under this deed, when their father's investments had reached maturity, Catriona was paid a total of IR£39,076.between August 1988 and "the early 2000s".
Documents
Catriona claimed she had no recollection of having signed the document or of the circumstances surrounding it.
She also suggested that because the document was incomplete and undated and as her signature had not been witnessed, this meant it was not a legal document.
The High Court found Catriona's claims in relation to misrepresentation and personal injury were both statute-barred as she was aware of difficulties when issues first arose with Michael about the family home in 2003/4 and she was obliged to bring her case within six years of that time. The High Court also separately rejected her claim of fraud in relation to the signing of the deed of family settlement which she said she never saw until 2019.
Catriona appealed arguing the High Court had erred in law. Michael and Martina opposed the appeal.
On Wednesday, Mr Justice Senan Allen, on behalf of the three-judge Court of Appeal, said she had not shown any error on the part of the High Court.
He said the legislative policy of the Statute of Limitations is "to prevent the litigation of stale claims" and Catriona's claims "long predated" the claim she brought in 2016.
She had not articulated, much less proved, her claim that running of time in relation to the Statute had been postponed because of fraud, he said.
