Catherine advises public and private sector clients in contentious matters, with her practice covering a broad range of commercial disputes, frequently comprising of large scale multi-party actions involving high value and complex claims.
She has extensive experience of contractual disputes and disputes in the banking and financial services, insurance, health insurance, communications and professional indemnity sectors. She also has particular experience of contentious regulatory and competition matters, judicial review and investigations. Catherine co-heads a specialist competition law litigation team in McCann FitzGerald.
Representative Matters
- Advised the Commission for Communications Regulation in defending a statutory appeal challenging a decision to designate eir as a universal service provider for fixed line telephone services in Ireland; by advising in relation to Quality of Service and USO funding decisions.
- Advised the Commission for Energy Regulation in Commercial Court judicial review proceedings challenging a decision on an application for a connection offer to the electricity grid;
- Advised the Voluntary Health Insurance Board in defending proceedings involving abuse of dominance claims by service providers for refusals of cover; advised in the context of Vhi’s acquisition of exclusive control of three downstream primary healthcare businesses; and provides ongoing advice in connection with various aspects of its business, including the legislative framework relevant to it and its business;
- Advised DAF Trucks in respect of follow on damages claims brought in the Irish courts following a finding of infringement of EU competition rules by the European Commission;
- Advised Volkswagen Group Ireland in defending proceedings relating to the motor vehicle block exemption regulation and related EU and Irish competition law issues following reorganisation of its dealer network;
- Advised Allied Irish Bank, l.c, Bank of Ireland, Danske Bank, ACC Loan Management, Deutsche Bank, Dexia, Standard Chartered on potential and actual disputes with customers, in relation to dealings with regulatory bodies and in numerous high value debt recovery proceedings against high profile companies and individuals; acting in negligence proceedings on behalf of a variety of financial investment institutions concerning the sale of investment products and/or the management of investment funds;
- Advised investors affected by the Madoff fraud as to potential relief available in Ireland as a result of losses arising out of the Madoff fraud;
- Advised a State entity in relation to issues arising from the work of the Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis, being the first inquiry to be established under the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013;
- Advised a broad range of clients in relation to complex corporate and commercial disputes, to include those involving corporate fraud, and handling associated litigation; and
- Advised Investment Intermediaries in relation to dealings with regulatory bodies and compliance with regulatory law/codes of conduct and disputes in connection with same.