Resources
Case law update - 4 December
Construction Law
Ashdrum Lodge ltd t/a Kiernan Homes v Barbouti, Aysar and David Gilligan and Gilligan Architects Ltd (notice parties)
21/8/2025 No. 2018 6876 P [2025] IEHC 522
Construction law - Historic estates - Refurbishment - Defective building work - Negligence - Breach of contract - Damages claim - Claim by the defendant against the Third Parties in respect of their failure, in their capacity as supervising architects, to discover defective works carried out by the plaintiff - Decision to dismiss architects - Liability - Architect unable to perform inspections and investigate defects - Whether the plaintiff prevented the architects from discharging his obligations to her under the Standard RIAI Architect's Contract - Court satisfied defendant's own conduct is responsible for preventing the architect from conducting his intended investigation - Admitted failings - Limited compensation granted to the defendant
Criminal Law
S v DPP
29/9/2025 No. 2023 1460 JR [2025] IEHC 513
Criminal law - Judicial review - Applicant an employees at a car dealership - Offences of multiple counts of theft, forgery and using a false instrument - Criminal prosecution - Delay - Applicant seeking to restrain a criminal prosecution on the grounds of prosecutorial delay - Death of an intended prosecution witness - Deceased had been the managing director of the company which operated the car dealership - Applicant contends his alleged actions were done with the knowledge of the managing director - Whether delay and death of witness made a fair trial impossible - Whether the delay has been culpable and/or blameworthy and whether the death of a witness entails a loss of defence can only be properly performed by reference to evidence - Court held the grounds upon which the accused contends that the pending criminal trial has been rendered unfair are all ones which the court of trial is best placed to adjudicate upon - Substantive application for judicial review must be dismissed
Keogh, Jonathan v Special Criminal Court, DPP and Thomas McConnell (notice parties)
12/9/2025 No. 2025 26 SP [2025] IEHC 489
Criminal law - Offence of murder - Life sentence - Appeal against conviction - Plaintiff seeking access to transcripts held by the Special Criminal Court in relation to the trial of another party for the same murder - Transcripts sought for the purpose of using that material in the appeal - Special summons - Application opposed by the other party - Prejudice - Issues raised - Jurisdiction of the Court to decide the Application - Test that must be satisfied - How this test falls to be applied to the facts of this application - Whether it is "necessary for the purpose of doing justice" - Court orders that the Special Criminal Court should provide the plaintiff with access to the transcripts of the trial of the other party
Data Protection
Nowak, Peter v Data Protection Commissioner
29/9/2025 No. 2024/262 [2025] IEHC 195
Data protection - Personal data - Appellant appealing from the judgment of the High Court and consequent order dismissing the appellant's appeal against the judgment of the Circuit Court dismissing his appeal under s. 26(1)(d) of the Data Protection Acts 1988-2003 against the decision of the Data Protection Commission - Appellant sat and failed a professional examination - Result confirmed by Appeals Panel - Data access request seeking examination scripts - Request refused as these were considered not to be personal data - Complaint filed with the respondent - Referral to CJEU - Appellant provided with copies of scripts - Complaints of alleged data erasure, unauthorised amendment or unlawful interference - Complaints rejected - Appellant appealing on various grounds - Whether the appellant identified serious and significant errors - Court finds the appellant was provided with "a faithful and intelligible reproduction" of his personal data - Order of the High Court affirmed - Appeal dismissed
Healthcare
Health Service Executive v T (M), in the matter of the Inherent Jurisdiction of the High Court
31/7/2025 No. 2025 22 MCA [2025] IEHC 440
Healthcare - Respondent a 30 year old women - Care arrangements - Application for orders made under the inherent constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court concerning the care and treatment of a vulnerable adult who is asserted to lack capacity to make certain categories of decision - Respondent does not suffer from an intellectual disability or any identified major psychiatric disorder - Respondent's lack of capacity attributed to her abnormal and dysfunctional upbringing, family circumstances and neglect - Safeguarding concerns - Poor living conditions - Removal from the family home - Personal welfare - Procedural safeguards - Statutory schemes - Assisted Decision-Making Capacity Act 2015 - Respondent's capacity impaired across a range of functions - "Learned behaviours" - Restricted contact with family members - Whether the orders sought could be characterised as orders authorising detention or deprivation of liberty - Respondent's rights to health and welfare - Orders granted
Immigration
Masood, Abdul Qadoos v Minister for Justice
10/9/2025 No. 2024 270 JR [2025] IEHC 485
Immigration - Employment - Afghan national - Employment visa application - Respondent refused to grant an employment visa to the applicant - Whether the circumstance of refusal were inter alia in breach of the applicant’s rights to fair procedures - Applicant is seeking an order of certiorari quashing the respondent's decision refusing an employment visa - Whether the respondent acted irrationally in holding that information provided by the applicant in support of his visa application could not be verified - Whether the respondent fell into error by finding that the applicant did not demonstrate a qualification to be employed as head chef'- Whether the respondent acted irrationally in counting it against the applicant that he did not submit either a contract or any revenue records in circumstances where the applicant had offered an explanation as to why he did not have such documents - Reliefs granted - Order made remitting the employment visa application to a different official within the Department of Justice for further consideration
M (Y M) v Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
18/9/2025 No. 2025 1127 JR [2025] IEHC 502
Immigration - Judicial review - Applicant a Somali national - Applicant seeks leave to challenge the Minister's refusal of permission to remain and a related deportation order - S. 50 of the International Protection Act 2015 - State Protection deemed available in Somalia - Assessment of risk - Art. 15(c) of Directive 2011/95/EU - Whether the Minister had properly assessed the risk of fear of harm from indiscriminate violence, clan-based hostilities, threats, kidnapping and death - Substantial grounds threshold - Leave refused
Injunctions
Farina, Eduardo Jardel Furlan v X Internet Unlimited Company
24/9/2025 No. 2025 4914 P [2025] IEHC 514
Injunctions - Social media platform - Suspended account - Plaintiff seeking a mandatory interlocutory injunction restraining the defendant from suspending his account on the platform - Plaintiff also seeks an interim injunction requiring the platform to prevent accounts which impersonate or purport to pass themselves off as his account - Plaintiff admitted that he had engaged in impersonation - Sanction - Account suspension - Whether the plaintiff has established any legal entitlement to the reinstatement of his suspended account - Whether the plaintiff could demonstrate a strong case on the merits - Court declined to grant the interlocutory injunction sought and vacated the stayed interim order - Relief refused
Intellectual Property
Merck KGaA and ors v Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC and Merck Sharp & Dohme Ireland (Human Health) Ltd
24/9/2025 No. 2024/287 [2025] IECA 192
Intellectual property - Trade mark infringement - Passing off - Stay - Appellants appealing from a decision of the High Court (i) setting aside an order granting leave to serve the first named defendant/respondent out of the jurisdiction and striking out the proceedings against that respondent; (ii) staying the first named appellant's claim of trade mark infringement against the second named defendant/respondent pursuant to Art. 136(1)(b) of Regulation 2017/1001 ( “the EU Trade Mark Regulation”); and (iii) staying the balance of the claims made against the second named defendant/respondent pursuant to the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court - Cross appeal - Whether an order should have been made by the High Court under Art. 136(1)(a) of the EU Trade Mark Regulation in respect of the claim of trade mark infringement asserted by Merck Germany against MSD Ireland - Whether an order should have been made under Art. 29(3) of Regulation 1215/2012 (the Recast Brussels Regulation) declining jurisdiction in respect of the claims of trade mark infringement and/or passing off against MSD Ireland - Court affirmed affirm so much of the order of the High Court as (a) set aside the order giving liberty to the plaintiffs to serve notice of the proceedings on the first defendant out of the jurisdiction and (b) struck out the proceedings against the first defendant - In lieu of the order of the High Court staying the proceedings against the second defendant under Art. 136(1)(b) of the EU Trade Mark Regulation and its inherent jurisdiction, the court instead ordered that the claim of trade mark infringement and passing off against the second defendant be stayed pursuant to Article 30 of the Recast Brussels Regulation - Appeal dismissed - Cross appeal allowed in part
Marine Law
Virgin Media Wholesale Ltd v Owners and all persons claiming an interest in the Lida Suzanna
18/9/2025 No. 2018 9581 P [2025] IEHC 493
Marine law - Damages claim - Subsea telecommunications cable - Fishing vessel - Fishery activity - Scallop dredges - Trawling activity - Damage to fibre optic cable in the Irish Sea - Defence on various grounds - Proof of ownership of the cable - Plaintiff's failure to prove it has suffered loss - Plaintiff's failure to prove it was the defendant's vessel that caused the damage to the cable - Whether the plaintiff is guilty of contributory negligence by failing to periodically inspect its cable and ensure that it was effectively buried at all times under the seabed - Delay in prosecuting claim - Whether the defendants were negligent and in breach of their duty of care by dredging over the cable - Plaintiff entitled to recover from the defendants the costs of repairing the damage to the cable - Claim for interest under s. 22 of the Courts Act 1981 refused
Planning and Development
Watchhouse Cross Shopping Centre Ltd and Sataner Ltd v An Coimisiún Pleanála, Ireland and The Attorney General, and Aldi Stores (Ireland) Ltd (notice party)
3/10/2025 2024 419 JR [2025] IEHC 520
Planning and development - Judicial review - Discount grocery store - Stand-alone development - Grant of permission - Local development plan - Nearby shopping centre anxious to retain its long-term viability - Challenge - Whether the first respondent's failed to engage with a key objective that new retail development should be concentrated in existing town, district and village centres if practicable and viable - Lack of consideration of Local development plan - Order of certiorari granted quashing the order of the respondent granting planning permission to the Notice Party
Proceeds of Crime
Criminal Assets Bureau v Calvert, Dermot, Martina Harty and Stacey Calvert
15/9/2025 Nos. 2025/64; 2025/93 [2025] IECA 188
Proceeds of crime - Appeals against High Court interlocutory orders relating to properties, cash and a motor car found to have been acquired in whole or in part with property that directly or indirectly constituted the proceeds of crime - Whether the Bureau had satisfied the standard of proof required by s. 8(2) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 - Whether in acceding to the Bureau's application for the appointment of a receiver over a property the High Court judge erred in failing to consider the equitable principles set out in Criminal Assets Bureau v. Russell [2020] IECA 61 - Appellants have failed to clearly identify any error in the findings or conclusions of the High Court judge - Appeals dismissed
Procurement
Kerrigan Sheanon Newman Unlimited Company v Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and Abtran Unlimited Company (notice party)
2/10/2025 No. 2025 112 [2025] IECA 196
Procurement - Dispute - Discovery - Appeal from High Court's refusal to order discovery in public procurement proceedings - Provision of managing agent services - Tender process - Appellant unsuccessful - Disclosure of tender methodologies - Confidentiality concerns - Sensitive documents - Transparency - Access - Confidentiality ring - Whether a company executive of the appellant should be included in a confidentiality ring - Discovery ordered for one category - Court dismissed appeal with regard to the inclusion of company executive of the appellant in the confidentiality ring - Appeal allowed in part
Property Law
McGinn, John and Julie McGinn v Davis, Sean
19/9/2025 No. 2025 96 CA [2025] IEHC 509
Property law - Fields - Grazing rights - Dispute - Verbal agreement - Whether agreement validly terminated - Harassment of second plaintiff - Construction of structures without consent - Installation of unauthorised security cameras - Circuit Court proceedings - Decision and order - Respondents granted orders for possession of two fields, an order directing the plaintiff to vacate the fields, an order to remove from the fields all livestock, animals, vehicles, equipment, structures and all items brought onto the fields within a period of two months from the date of the court order and an order restraining trespassing on the fields - Appellant appealing against the dismissal of his defence and counterclaim - Whether there was any basis to the appellant's counterclaim - Court found no basis to the appellant's counterclaim or to the plea of estoppel - Damages awarded to the respondents - Appeal dismissed
Protected Disclosures
O'Rourke, Yvonne v Minister for Defence and The Protected Disclosures Commissioner
29/9/2025 No. 2025 104 JR [2025] IEHC 518
Protected disclosures - Applicant seeking judicial review - Whistleblower reports - Second named respondent seeking directions as to the manner in which confidential material relating to the identity of persons making protected disclosures may be utilised in the context of litigation - Whether the second named respondent should not have made the decision to transmit a protected disclosure to the Secretary General of the Department of Defence but rather that he should have accepted the report himself for investigation - Obligations under confidentiality laws - Conditions under which redacted and anonymised confidential disclosure documents may be used in court proceedings - Necessity and proportionality - Statutory provisions - Court makes directions pursuant to s. 16(2)(a) and (c) of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 - Application granted
Coverage: All reserved written judgments published by the Courts Service are indexed on the Library Catalogue where they can be searched by party name, judge, subject, keyword and other filters. Members may log in to the catalogue with their solicitor number and library PIN, available by emailing libraryenquire@lawsociety.ie
