Seán Dunne's wife initiates proceedings against US lawyer

GAYLE KILLILEA Dunne, the wife of property developer Seán Dunne, has initiated legal proceedings against her New York immigration lawyer over $500,000 she wants returned to her.

Ms Dunne initiated proceedings in the Supreme Court of New York State against Philip Teplen of New York firm Teplen Associates in December.

In her complaint she said she was living in the state of Connecticut and that, in November 2010, she engaged Mr Teplen to “prepare and submit an investment visa application” on her behalf.

She said the visa “was to be used in connection with a potential real-estate property investment Dunne was planning to make in Chicago, Illinois. The downpayment for this investment was anticipated to be $500,000”.

She said Mr Teplen advised her to place such an amount in an escrow account of his firm as this would bolster her visa application.

However, she subsequently decided not to proceed with the Chicago investment and told Mr Teplen to return $170,000 of the money, saying she needed it for an alternative investment.

When the law firm failed to return the money, she said she sought the return of the entire amount. At the time of her filing her complaint, she said, the money had not yet been returned. She also said she had been told the money was no longer in the account. Ms Dunne is seeking in excess of $500,000 in damages.

The filings available from the New York court do not indicate any response as yet from Mr Teplen. An interim order made on December 21st remains sealed, though an earlier order indicates the court has ordered the New York lawyer to return the money.

E-mails included in one court submission show lawyer Jordan Stern, for Ms Dunne, in communication with George Mayer, for Mr Teplen. In one e-mail, Mr Mayer said he understood the firm Heagney, Lennon and Slane were also acting for the Dunnes and said they were co-operating fully with them. He did not say anything further in that regard.

“You may know that Mr Teplen executed a deed to the Dunnes which has been sent by overnight mail which will be delivered tomorrow morning. I also understand that Mr Teplen has turned over the file that was requested,” the December 19th e-mail states.

Mr Teplen acts as trustee for the purchasers of a house in Greenwich, Connecticut, which was bought in April 2010 for $2 million. The house has subsequently been substantially demolished, creating difficulties with the local planning authorities, which have halted work on the site.

The Dunnes are understood to be the owners, although Mr Dunne has denied that this is so. Dick Case, a retired IBM executive who lives adjacent to the house, has said Mr Dunne introduced himself as the owner of the property.

Mr Dunne was one of Ireland’s most prominent property developers during the boom years, with his companies spending hundreds of millions of euro on property in Ballsbridge, Dublin.

The Dunnes could not be contacted yesterday and Mr Teplen did not return calls to his office.