Keddie's forgotten London property … Former client advises Royal Family to be careful of Keddie connection … Partners' property assets in deep freeze … Chief Judge Reg Blanch accused of running a "monkey room" in Hong Kong
5 Cleveland Gardens, London. Transferred from Sarah to Russell and back again
OH! … that property in London!
It clean slipped Russell Keddie's mind when he filed his statement of affairs and debtor's petition that he had "a previous legal interest" in a leasehold property at 13/5 Cleveland Gardens, W26HA.
Accountancy firm Man Judd is acting for Russell and have now advised Max Donnelly, the bankrupt's trustee, of the oversight.
Keddie recently transferred his legal interest in the Cleveland Gardens property to his wife Sarah Keddie, aka Sarah Key.
The history is not straight forward.
Sarah bought the property in 1983 and used it as her base while she plied her trade attending to the royal family's pains in the back.
In 1985 she married Russell, and in about 1988 she transferred the property to her husband.
Two years later it was decided the flat be transferred back from Russell to Sarah. Instructions were given to London law shop Cohen & Naicker to do the legal work.
Apparently, the transfer didn't take place.
Last year Sarah gave instructions for legal proceedings to be commenced against the owners of another apartment in Cleveland Gardens over a leaking water problem.
It was then discovered that Russell was still the legal owner of the property and it was only then that the property was belated transferred back to Mrs K.
Russell says he made no contribution to the purchase of the flat in 1983 or to the mortgage payments. From time to time the property was tenanted and "for tax purpose" the rent was treated as that of Mrs K.
A little puzzle for Max to sort.
* * *
TONY Barakat, another of the Keddies Three, is also groaning under the weight of real estate.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, he owns units in the inner west of Sydney and a third share in Redfern properties, one of which had been Keddies' office.
The wily Barakat recently sold nearly $5 million worth of units in Ashfield in November.
Last Friday (July 6), on an application by former clients the NSW Supremes froze $4.5 million of Barakat and former partner Scott Roulstone's assets.
Under the order Roulstone has to struggle along on $3,500 a week in living expenses, while poor Barakat has to make do with a miserable $1,000 a week.
* * *
Sarah Key: Royal back pain therapist
FORMER Keddies' client Mohamed Tariq has written to the Prince of Wales asking him to "review" his dealings with his physiotherapist, Mrs Sarah Keddie, known professionally in back pain circles as Sarah Key.
Tariq told HRH Prince Charles that Mrs Keddie has been transferred millions of dollars worth of properties by her "disgraced and bankrupt" husband, who was seeking to defeat his creditors.
Mr Tariq thoughtfully provided Prince Charles with internet links to stories about Russell Keddie and the way his firm diddled and ripped-off customers.
Mohamed is concerned that by having their backs manipulated by Mrs Keddie could "badly ruin the good repute of the British royal family".
Oddly, the Legal Services Commissioner, Steve Mark, declined to do anything about Tariq's complaint, despite having been advised by costs assessor, barrister Michael Robinson, that Keddies had deliberately overcharged, leading to costs that were "grossly excessive".
Mark also dismissed a complaint that Keddies had failed to make timely and adequate costs disclosure to Tariq.
The Legal Services Commissioner swallowed Keddies' explanation that it would have been too upsetting for Tariq to receive the costs information in a timely fashion.
Employed solicitor Philip Scroope was concerned "not to impose unnecessary additional burdens on, or cause stress" to the client and his family. He wanted his clients "to have the best possible opportunity, free from pressure of any kind to understand the costs arrangements".
* * *
ON another matter Paddy Haverson, communications secretary to TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwell has been in touch with a pressing piece of information, in response to a report on Channel 9's unimpeachably reliable A Current Affair.
The TV story alleged Sarah Key had "been told to get rid of the royal crest from her website".
Paddy explained:
"I would like to make it clear that we accepted her explanation as to why a crest had appeared on her website; that it was in a photocopied picture of a newspaper article in which the crest had been used to illustrate a story about Saray Key, and so, therefore, was clearly not an attempt by Sarah Key to suggest she held a Royal Warrant."
Thank god that's cleared up.
* * *
TO hand comes some historical Keddies-related correspondence from 2007 between the chief judge of the District Court, Reg Blanch, and aggrieved Chinese clients of the law shop.
From Shanghai Hong Mei Liu claimed to have been cheated by Keddies and wanted to know about Blanch's role in the Hong Kong "hearings" of the District Court.
"You were meant to hear my personal injury claim in Hong Kong. The case was settled and the settlement documents were handed up to you. I was warned by friends that Keddies would cheat me and that the Australian legal system is there to help lawyers cheat people out of their money."
Hong said he was not told the full figure for which the insurance company settled the case and only later discovered that the amount was $385,000. From this he received $130,000.
He never got a bill.
The client also discovered that the insurance company had much earlier offered to settle the claim for $120,000 plus costs. In his letter to the Chief Judge he said:
"In failing to properly asking [sic] questions of Keddies and the terms of settlement, a person in your position ought to be held responsible, particularly when you have been made explicitly aware that Keddies have been using you, your court and the farce of the Australian legal system to cheat the Chinese people."
He said he would try the Legal Services Commissioner, but if nothing happens …
"I will tell the world that almost every matter that you have heard overseas for Keddies have led to people being cheated out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and that the Chief Judge's court is a monkey room."
In relation to another Shanghai complainant, Xi Laing Gu, Blanch wrote:
"I advise you that the only meal I have ever attended with lawyers from Keddies firm was a lunch at the conclusion of the cases in Singapore.
That lunch was attended by all lawyers involved in the cases including the lawyers for the defendant, not just lawyers from Keddies' firm.
I did open the Keddies office in Liverpool as reported in the newspaper.
You are entitled to complain to the Legal Services Commissioner if you feel aggrieved by the conduct of your lawyers and I expect your complaint will be fully investigated."
Ho, ho, ho.