End to long tussle over trust money held for victims of HMAS Melbourne-Voyager disaster … Former solicitor for injured claimants coughs-up funds for the receivers … Agrees not to reapply for admission … Apologies and regrets
AFTER seven years of courtroom battles the David Forster/Hollows Lawyers/Melbourne-Voyager trust misappropriation litigation is over.
The receivers from Hall & Wilcox have written to HMAS Melbourne-Voyager compensation claimants saying a deed of settlement has been agreed which settles all claims arising from Forster’s breaches of trust and misappropriation of injured claimants money.
The receivers of Forster’s Frankston law firm, the aptly named Hollows Lawyers, have been chasing nearly $7 million from the ex-solicitor.
The Melbourne-Voyager collision happened in February 1964 and after numerous skirmishes the surviving seamen represented by Forster are now in striking distance of seeing some of the Commonwealth’s payout.
Under the settlement Forster has coughed-up a further $1.8 million for the receivers. This is on top of the $2 million that the Victorian Court of Appeal ordered to be paid as part of the recovery proceedings last June.
Forster had one more fling, seeking special leave of the High Court to overturn VicAppeals’ judgment.
Negotiations subsequently took place between people from Hall & Wilcox, the Victorian Legal Services Board, the Legal Services Commissioner, Forster and his wife Maire Forster and on November 17 a deed of settlement was signed.
It settles all claims arising from Forster’s conduct of the Melbourne client files.
As part of the settlement, David Forster has consented to orders that his name be removed from the roll and he has undertaken not to reapply. All proceedings involving the Forsters (including David Forster’s special leave application) have been or are shortly required to be discontinued.
Justice Karin Emerton has indicated that she is comfortable with the terms of settlement.
Forster attributes the misappropriation to a series of errors caused by his accounting software, Infinity Law.
He said he sought to rectify the errors in 2008, but “the rectification work was not accepted by the Court of Appeal”.
A gingerly worded “apology” from Forster was attached to the settlement notification, in which the former principal of Hollows said:
“I apologise to the Melbourne clients and any other persons who the court found in the recovery proceedings had had trust monies held on their behalf by Hollows Lawyers transferred from that firm’s trust account to its office account inappropriately.”
There was a further apology to Kristine Hanscombe, the barrister who acted for the receivers.
“The litigation was very acrimonious and, at times, I have overreacted on an emotional basis and acted unprofessionally due to the pressure of the litigation process. I have found the litigation process to be extremely stressful. I apologise for my emotional misconduct to Dr Hanscombe and to the representatives of the board and the receivers and the Legal Services Commissioner and to the Melbourne clients and any other persons who are named in the recovery proceedings …”
He attributed his emotional outbursts to health issues following two strokes and a severe “de-gloving injury to my left hand and the subsequent surgery”.
He has high blood pressure which fluctuates wildly and this results in a constant fear of a further and possibly fatal stroke.
In April 2013, Justinian reported that at the conclusion of one of the numerous proceedings after the judge had left the court, Forster followed Hanscombe from the bar table to the door, repeatedly calling her a “monster”.
He also sent a letter to Hanscombe:
“It is my heartfelt opinion that your advocacy is unduly vindictive and totally disproportionate. As you are no doubt aware legal costs claimed against me now exceed $1.5 million and the prospects of say three further years designed to destroy me is not pleasant. My opinion of your behaviour is causing me emotionally very disturbing thoughts towards myself and you.”
Justice Iain Ross found that letter to be threatening.
At a hearing before Emerton on September 30, 2010 Forster referred to one of the receivers, Noel Batrouney, as a “vulture” and a bloody parasite”.
Other Justinian stories about the Forster-Hollows receivership litigation include:
Sinking of the Voyager survivors June 10, 2011
That sinking feeling August 2, 2011
Forster hit midships June 5, 2013
Voyager litigation still afloat Sept 27, 2016