Case law update - 21 November
Recent superior court cases cover banking, criminal law, European Arrest Warrants, European Union law, immigration, landlord and tenant, personal injuries and more.
Recent cases published on the Courts website are listed below.
- Banking
- Criminal Law
- European Arrest Warrants
- European Union Law
- Immigration
- Landlord and Tenant
- Personal Injuries
Banking
Governor and Company of The Bank of Ireland v Carey, Timothy and Finola Colgan Carey - UNAPPROVED
16/10/2024 No. 2022/113SP [2024] IECA 245
Banking - Loan facility agreements - Indebtedness - Consolidation of loans - Monies due and owing - Security - Registered lien over property pursuant to s.73(3) of the Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006 - High Court proceedings - Lien declared valid, monies owing together with interest and judgment debt stood well charged - Possession proceeding issued in respect of dwelling house and lands - Appeal - Appellants contend that this lien is invalid and unenforceable for non-compliance with s73(3)(c) - Sum claimed not well charged - Alleged waiver of interest - Validity of registered lien - Appeal dismissed
Criminal Law
People (DPP) v T (D)
17/10/2024 No. 133/2024 [2024] IECA 252
Criminal law - Drug offences - Grow house - Cultivation of cannabis - Unlawful possession - Possession of a controlled drug for sale or supply - Dismissal of a number of charges by the Circuit Court under section 4E of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 - Evidence - Whether the respondent was merely a visitor to the property - Appellant appealing against the dismissal of the charges - Whether the evidence was insufficient to permit the matter to proceed - Presence of the respondent's mobile phone, bank card and passport at the house - Appeal allowed
People (DPP) v McQuillan, Gerald
11/10/2024 No. 148/2024 [2024] IECA 249
Criminal law - Sentencing - Respondent pleaded guilty to offences of criminal damage, endangerment, assault and trespass - Sentence of 18 months imposed with the balance of the counts taken into consideration with credit for time served - Applicant seeking review of sentence on grounds of undue leniency - Offence committed while on bail for a previous assault - Mitigation - Submissions - Appeal allowed - Sentence quashed - Respondent re-sentenced
People (DPP) v Lucey, Michael
14/10/2024 No. 65/2024 [2024] IECA 250
Criminal law - Sentencing - Road traffic - Offences of dangerous driving causing death, drunken driving and dangerous driving - Concurrent sentences and disqualification of drivers' licence for several years - Applicant seeking review of sentence on the grounds of undue lenience - Mitigation - Early guilty plea - Remorse - Submissions - Application refused
European Arrest Warrant
Minister for Justice and Equality v Walsh, Sean, in the matter of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 (as amended)
22/10/2024 No. 129/22 [2024] IESC 47
European arrest warrant - Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) - United Kingdom seeking the surrender of the appellant for prosecution of terrorist-type offences - High Court made order for appellant's surrender - Appeal - Appellant objects to his surrender - Surrender would violate Art. 7 of the ECHR - Objection based on changes to the law in Northern Ireland relating to the sentencing of persons convicted of terrorism offences and the regime governing their release on licence - Changes took effect on 30 April 2021 - Whether a heavier penalty would be imposed on him than was applicable at the time of the alleged offending (July 2020) - Whether Art. 49(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (“the Charter”) precluded his surrender - Interpretation of Art. 49(1) - Question Referred for a preliminary ruling to the CJEU - Appeal is stayed pending the ruling of the CJEU
European Union Law
Gearty, Gerry and Sean Beirne v DPP and ors
17/10/2024 No. 106/23 [2024] IESC 45
European Union law - Private boglands - Turf-cutting - Turbary rights - Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora - EC (Birds and Habitats) Regulations 2011, S.I. 477/2011 - Refusal to allow authorised officers to access and to inspect appellants' boglands - Transposed legislation - Challenge to the transposition of the Directive and s.3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (as amended by the European Communities Act 2007 - Delegation of powers - Whether ministerial creation of the indictable offence an abdication of the Oireachtas of its exclusive legislative power - High Court proceedings - Appeal dismissed - Appeal to Supreme Court - Whether it is constitutionally permissible for a minister to create an indictable offence by regulations made under s.3 of the 1972 Act - Appeal dismissed
Immigration
Rana, Sangeeta and Lehrasib Ali v Minister for Justice
18/10/2024 No. 152/2023; 153/2023 [2024] IESC 46
Immigration - Judicial review - Visas - "Special Scheme" - Non-EEA nationals entitlement to reside in the State - Student permissions expired – Residence acquired through marriage to non-Irish EU citizen - Permissions revoked - Determination that individuals not of "good character" - Marriage of convenience - Misleading documentation - Decision upheld in the High Court - Court of Appeal found the appellant had not engaged sufficiently with the submissions made by the respondents at the review stage Orders of certiorari granted on appeal - Appellant seeking leave to appeal on the basis of the significance of the decision by the Court of appeal in relation to the extent of the "duty to engage" with all of the material submitted by an applicant - Decision to refuse residency upheld
Landlord and Tenant
McNamara, Michael v McCormack, Aideen and Stephen Murray
17/10/2024 No. 2023/126 CA [2024] IEHC 593
Landlord and tenant - Tenancy agreement - Appellant approved for Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) - Delay by respondents in signing and returning form to the council - Loss of benefit - Discrimination - Complaint to WRC - Finding made in appellant's favour - Compensation award - Appeal to Circuit Court - Quantum - Monetary jurisdiction - Decision to set aside decree of the WRC - Appeal on a point of law - s. 28(3) of the Equal Status Acts as amended - Whether the learned judge had "made an error in a point of law by setting aside a decree of the workplace relations commission" - Decision of the Circuit Court set aside and remitted to the Circuit Court for rehearing
Personal Injuries
Rezmuves, Zsolt v Birney, Aidan John and ors
16/10/2024 No. 2019/5573 P; 2018/4660 P; 2018/3516 P [2024] IEHC 592
Personal injuries - Road traffic collisions - Combined trial of three sets of proceedings - Plaintiff seeking damages for injuries suffered in each collision - Expert witnesses - Medical reports - Claims for loss of earnings/opportunities and spinal cord stimulator - Liability for each of the collisions not disputed - Whether the plaintiff has adduced evidence or has sworn verifying affidavits which he knows to be false or misleading - What general and special damages should be awarded to the plaintiff if the defendants do not satisfy the Court that the plaintiff knowingly adduced false or misleading evidence - Causation - Damages awarded in the sum of €53,050
Davidovic, Ljubica v Apleona HSG Limited, Road Transport Repairs Limited, and Aldi Stores (Ireland) Limited
21/10/2024 No. 2021/2360 [2024] IEHC 596
Personal injuries - Workplace accident - Plaintiff moving pallet cage trollies - Sharp object at the base of trolley - Ankle injury - Settlement - Issue between the repairer and store - Court requested to apportion the liability for the injury sustained by the plaintiff - Issues for determination - Health and safety and training systems at the store - Whether repairer had carried out repair on the particular trolley one week before the accident - If repair carried out on the particular trolley whether such repair caused and contributed to the accident - Evidence - Inconsistencies - Court dismisses the claim for contribution and indemnity made by Aldi against the second named defendant
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
