US lawyer vows to pay €169,000 to Kildare businessman

A US lawyer has undertaken, before the High Court, to pay €169,000 owed by him to a businessman, by Friday.

Lawrence Daniel O'Neill, who lives with his family on Gilford Road, Sandymount, Dublin, told the court he had arranged a loan for the money with JP Morgan Chase Bank in New York and had the signed documents for the loan transferred to the US by air courier on Tuesday.

Mr O'Neill is facing proceedings for committal to prison over alleged contempt of court orders made earlier this month, directing him to repay the money immediately to Adriano Fusco, of Johnstown, Co Kildare.

The money was part of a larger sum Mr O’Neill had been holding from the sale of a business in which Mr Fusco was involved.

Mr O’Neill told the court on Tuesday he was arranging a loan with JP Morgan Chase on the strength of the assets of his New York attorney’s practice and an apartment he owns there.

Transfer

He told Mr Justice Tony O’Connor on Wednesday that he expected he would have the money by Thursday and it would be transferred to Mr Fusco’s solicitor’s account by Friday.

He also said he had instructed lawyers to bring proceedings against a client of his in Dubai, who had received the money in error.

Despite repeated assurances from that client that the money would be sent back to him, it had not happened and that was why he had moved himself to get the loan from New York, he said.

After he gave a sworn undertaking to the court that the money would be transferred to Mr Fusco’s solicitor by Friday, at the latest, Mr Justice O’Connor said he would adjourn the matter to January 11th – when the new law term begins.

Counsel for Mr Fusco sought documentary proof of the loan arrangement.

Mr O’Neill said he was prepared to supply a letter from JP Morgan Chase but other material contained commercially sensitive information.

The judge gave leave for the case to be brought back before him at 48 hours’ notice, if matters need to be brought to his attention.

“Hopefully, you can put this to rest and have a quiet Christmas with your family,” he told Mr O’Neill.