(Photo: joephotostudio/Shutterstock.com)Irish Dance Teacher Accuses Lawyer of Smearing His Reputation, Botching Visa
An Irish dance instructor accused his former lawyer, Gary Healy, of dropping his visa application without warning and of falsely telling others that he was a pedophile.
December 27, 2019 at 01:45 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on New York Law Journal
A dance instructor has sued New York law firm McMahon, Martine & Gallagher and one of its lawyers for allegedly dropping his visa application without warning and falsely telling others that he was a pedophile.
Jamie Hodges, who teaches Irish dance and is from the U.K., said in a suit against the law firm and attorney Gary Healy that he was left without legal status in the U.S., and with his business relationships in tatters, as a result of Healy's actions. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, seeks unspecified damages for defamation, legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and other claims.
The lawsuit alleges Hodges paid more than $4,000 to have Healy work on his visa, and was told that the visa "had been secured." But on Nov. 19, Hodges alleged, Healy told him that his visa application had been withdrawn. The email, included as an exhibit to the lawsuit, said the organization sponsoring him had withdrawn its support due to "unforeseen circumstances."
Hodges said he then hired Tom Fini of Catafago Fini because he was shocked and confused by what Healy was doing. According to the suit, Healy told Fini on a phone call Nov. 26 that Hodges was a "pedophile" and would be "finished" as soon as he was sent back to the U.K.
The suit alleged that Hodges would not be able to hold Healy accountable for breaching his duties as a lawyer "as Mr. Hodges would supposedly never be able to return [to the U.S.] and would be destroyed by Mr. Healy's malicious allegations of pedophilia—all of which are completely untrue," the suit said.
The suit alleges that Healy, who is a former Riverdance performer and also teaches Irish dance in addition to practicing law, told another instructor's daughter that Hodges had sexual relations with two students under the age of 14 and another under the age of 17. Hodges said in his complaint that the false allegations have made their way through the Irish dance community and led three schools and instructors to sever ties with him.
Fini is representing Hodges in the legal malpractice and defamation action. Reached by email, he declined to comment on the case.
Healy did not respond to an email sent Thursday seeking comment. Leadership at McMahon Martine did not respond to requests for comment.
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