Recent Superior Court cases cover criminal law, family law, immigration, industrial relations, powers of attorney, practice and procedure, property law, revenue and more.
Recent cases published on the Courts website are listed below.
Criminal Law
B (N) v DPP
11/3/2024 No. 2022/112 JR [2024] IEHC 137
Criminal law - Historic sexual offences - Applicant seeks to prohibit his trial for inordinate prosecutorial delay - Prejudice - Death of potential witnesses - Medical condition - Risk of unfair trial - Burden of proof - Medical reports - Psychiatric issues - Exceptional circumstances - Application refused
Doe and ors v DPP
29/2/2024 Nos. 2022/802 JR; 2022/884 JR; 2022/994 JR [2024] IEHC 112
Criminal law - Judicial review - Offences of alleged sexual assault and false imprisonment of a fifteen year old female - Applicants seek to restrain the criminal prosecution pending against them on the basis of prosecutorial delay - At the date of the alleged offences each of the applicants was under the age of eighteen years and thus a "child" as defined under the Children Act 2001 - Procedural protections provided for under the 2001 Act - Qualifying criteria - Statutory entitlements - Anonymity - "ageing out" - Each of the applicants reached the age of majority prior to their being charged with the alleged offences - Statutory entitlements no longer available - Prejudice - Order made directing reporting restrictions in the criminal proceedings
Afzal, Adnan v People (DPP)
7/2/2024 No. 2021/1087 JR [2024] IEHC 38
Criminal law - Judicial review application - Offence of money laundering - Applicant alleges prejudice - Email addresses - Money transfers - Bank accounts held in the applicant’s name - Account transfers - Failure of An Garda Síochána to retrieve for inspection the Internet Protocol addresses - Risk applicant will not receive a fair trial - Delay - Application dismissed
Naseeb, Raja v People (DPP)
7/2/2024 No. 2021/707 JR [2024] IEHC 37
Criminal law - Judicial review application - Offence of money laundering - Bank accounts - Money transfers - Applicant seeking order of prohibition restraining the respondent from prosecuting the applicant in regard to three counts of engaging in converting, transferring, handling, acquiring, possessing or using property that are the proceeds of criminal conduct - Failure of An Garda Síochána to retrieve for inspection the Internet Protocol addresses - Risk of unfair trial - Application dismissed
Family Law
O (S) v B (A), In the matter of the Child Abduction and Enforcement of Custody Orders Acts 1991, in the matter of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and in the matter of T and M, Minors
12/2/2024 [2024] IEHC 122
Family law - Separation - Children - Wrongful removal from Germany to Ireland - German courts prohibited the respondent mother from taking the children outside of Germany and the Schengen Zone - Father seeks return of the children to Germany on the basis of their alleged abduction - Defence of 'grave risk' - Respondent alleges applicant inflicted physical and sexual violence and financial abuse on her - Lack of evidence - Ordered that the children be returned to Germany
D (E) v K (C), In the matter of the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989 and in the matter of the Family Law Act, 1995
16/2/2024 No. 2023/158 M [2024] IEHC 126
Family law - Safety order - Judicial separation - Mobile phone messages - Extra marital relationships - Drug taking - Private investigator - Evidence - Domestic violence reliefs sought - Domestic Violence Act 2018 - Statutory interpretation - No actual violence occurred - Impact of the actions of the respondent on the welfare of the applicant - S. 5 of the 2018 Act - Protection of rights of victims and children - Relief granted in the making of a safety order
Immigration
H (F S), F S and ors v Minister for Justice
26/2/2024 No. 2023/190 [2024] IECA 44
Immigration - Visa appeals - Non-EEA nationals - Family reunification - Policy Document - Qualifying criteria - Appellant appealing against the judgment and order quashing the appellant’s decision refusing an appeal against the refusal of the applications of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth applicants for long stay visas - Whether the appellant had unreasonably and irrationally concluded that the appeals did not disclose exceptional humanitarian circumstances - Appeal allowed - High Court judgment and order set aside
Industrial Relations
H A O'Neil Limited v Unite the Union, Patrick James Goold, William Mangan and Damian Jones
6/3/2024 No. 46/2023 [2024] IESC 8
Industrial relations - Travel allowances - Agreement - Increased hourly rates of pay - Dispute - S. 16 of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 - Sectoral employment order (SEO) - Resolution procedure - Ballot - Industrial action - Plaintiff contended industrial action in breach of a no-strike clause - Injunction granted in the High Court - Appeal - S. 19 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990 - Interpretation - Whether injunction ought to have been granted - Appeal allowed
Powers of Attorney
B (B) v C (C)
23/2/2024 No. EPA 2019 1 [2024] IEHC 123
Powers of attorney - Enduring power of attorney - Execution of power of attorney - S. 12(2)(a) of the Powers of Attorney Act 1996 - Registration of instrument - Interpretation - Whether the respondent (Attorney) has the authority to make personal care decisions for the Donor including where the Donor should live - Proposed order made determining that the meaning or effect of the instrument is not such as to give the respondent (Attorney) the authority to make personal care decisions, including where the Donor should live
Practice and Procedure
Fannon, Eoin v O'Brien, Tom and Promontoria (Oyster) DAC and by order Ulster Bank Ireland DAC - UNAPPROVED
6/3/2024 No. 2021/150 [2024] IECA 51
Practice and procedure - Appellant seeking to dismiss or strike out the claims made by the respondent against the appellant - Claims in contract, negligence, defamation and trespass - New arguments advanced - Whether the appellant should be permitted to rely on substantial arguments which were not considered by the High Court - Unfairness and inconsistency with the role of the appellate court - Contract and negligence claims dismissed - Appeal from the refusal of the High Court to dismiss the defamation and trespass claims allowed
Minister for Justice and Equality v Walsh, Sean
7/3/2024 No. 129/2022 [2024] IESC 9
Practice and procedure - European arrest warrant - Trade and Cooperation Agreement - Requested surrender - Order made for the surrender of the appellant to Northern Ireland - Appellant to be charged with various terrorism-type offences - Term of imprisonment - Release on licence - Regime of early release - Legislation enacted after the alleged offences were committed - Legislative changes - New provisions for early release to those who had already been convicted and sentenced before the commencement of the amending legislation - Whether retrospective application would be a breach of Art. 7 of the European Convention of Human Rights - R v. Morgan [2021] NICA 67 - Question raised - Obligations - Question referred to the CJEU
Bristol Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company v Norton (Waterford) Limited t/a Teva Pharmaceuticals Ireland
1/3/2024 No. 2023/279 [2024] IECA 49
Practice and procedure - Intellectual property - Drug manufacture - Previous proceedings - Challenge to launch of generic version of appellant's drug - Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) infringement - Interlocutory injunction proceedings - Scope of undertaking as to damages - Form of undertaking proposed appropriate - Order made - Appeal - Adequacy of undertaking - Whether the High Court should have required the appellant to extend the undertaking as to damages to compensate entities who are not parties to the proceedings but who may suffer loss as a result of the injunction sought - Appeal allowed
Coughlan, Brian, Coates Entertainment Ltd trading as City Limits Comedy and Night Club v Stokes, Amanda, Michael Whelton and ors
8/3/2024 No. 2011/3709 P [2024] IEHC 133
Practice and procedure - Specific performance - Settlement agreement - Third and fourth defendants' application to strike out the plaintiffs' claim for want of prosecution - Previous proceedings - Allegations that water from the defendants' premises had caused damage to the plaintiffs' premises - Settlement agreement required each of the defendants to carry out particular works - Dispute - Effectiveness of the work carried out - Delay - Balance of justice - Prejudice - Plaintiff's action dismissed
Property Law
Jacob, David Ian and Charles William Allen v Pepper Finance Corporation (Ireland) designated activity company, Cormac Ryan and Ian Wigglesworth
1/3/2024 No. 2022/5055 P [2024] IEHC 116
Property law - Circuit court proceedings - Order for possession - Appeal - High Court proceedings - Possession of the property granted to the defendant - Application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court - Application was refused by determination - High Court proceedings issued disputing the defendant's entitlement to possession - Defendant application to strike out the application pursuant to O. 19, r. 28 of the RSC or to the court's inherent jurisdiction - Whether the first defendant had established entitlement to the property - Statement of claim that property had been placed in a "private irrevocable family trust" - No evidence of trust furnished - Res judicata - Proceedings struck out
Revenue
Greaney Solar Products Limited v Revenue Commissioners, Ireland and Attorney General
1/2/2024 No. 2018/5296 P [2024] IEHC 119
Revenue - Defendants' application seeking liberty to deliver an amended Defence - Second-hand vehicles - Importation - Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) refunds - Application of administration charges - Lawfulness - Dispute - Challenge - Plaintiff, in the substantive action, seeks repayment and restitution, damages, interest and costs - C-552/15 Commission v Ireland - Proposed amendment to defence - Defendants granted liberty to deliver an amended Defence in terms of the amendments exhibited on affidavit
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