Login
Qld solicitor tangled up in family property drama fined
A Queensland solicitor who agreed to act for a married couple has been filed after he was caught up in a family dispute.
Naomi Neilson
The Legal Services Commissioner alleged Murray Lester Cass, principal of Cass Legal, failed to maintain “reasonable standards of competence and diligence” while he acted for a married couple on a matter concerning the purchase of a Paradise Point property.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create a free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) found his conduct amounted to unsatisfactory professional conduct.
The couple, Mr and Mrs Thompson, had purchased the property with the intention of being named joint tenants; however, there were some family issues concerning Mrs Thompson’s granddaughter.
After a meeting at Mr Cass’ office, he had “reason to believe” Mr and Mrs Thompson would be named as joint tenants and would remain that way on the condition Mrs Thompson relocated her granddaughter. If this had not happened in six weeks, Mr Cass believed they would instead be named as common tenants.
Six weeks later, Mr Cass named them as common tenants following a phone call from a “pretty upset and very angry” Mr Thompson, who informed him the granddaughter was still living with him and his wife.
Mrs Thompson contacted Mr Cass when she became aware and insisted she had not agreed to the condition. She also questioned why Mr Cass had taken her husband’s instructions and not hers.
“At this point, the respondent knew of the conflict. Yet he continued to act in accordance with the instructions from Mr Thompson. He thereby failed to carry out the instructions from Mrs Thompson,” QCAT judicial member Peter Lyons KC said.
It was submitted by the Legal Services Commissioner that Mr Cass should have “ceased acting for both parties” when he became aware of the conflict and “ought to have realised he could no longer act in the best interests of both parties simultaneously, and he should not have preferred the interest of one client over the other”.
Mr Cass said the Legal Services Commissioner’s submissions he should be reprimanded and found guilty of professional misconduct was “inappropriately severe”, especially given he has been a “well-respected and longstanding member of the legal fraternity” for 28 years without any prior disciplinary action.
Mr Lyons added it was apparent from Mr Cass’ affidavit that he was “very regretful of the conduct”.
“In the present case, given the respondent’s previously unblemished career, and his regret, there does not seem to be any need to take personal deterrence into account. … the tribunal considers that the misconduct is towards the lower end of the scale,” Mr Lyons said.
