Recent cases published on the Courts website are listed below.
Contract Law
Point Village Development Ltd v Dunnes Stores Unlimited Company
20/7/2026 No. 2025/308 [2026] IECA 136
Contract law - Specific performance - Development agreement - Store fit out - High Court proceedings - High Court order mandating specific performance between the parties - Failure to comply - Contempt of court - Appellant issued a motion seeking a declaration that the respondent was in contempt of court - High Court refused to grant the relief sought in the motion - Appellant appealing from that order - Appellant seeking a declaration that the respondent was in contempt of the High Court order - Appeal allowed
Point Village Development Ltd v Dunnes Stores Unlimited Company
Criminal Law
People (DPP) v Scintei, Calin
13/7/2026 No. 113/2025 [2026] IECA 129
Criminal law - Sentencing - Offence of participation in the activities of a criminal organisation and related offences - Respondent sentenced to concurrent terms of 3 years' imprisonment for each of the offences - Applicant seeking a review of the sentences on the grounds of undue leniency - Court finds the sentences imposed were within the range of acceptable sentencing outcomes for the respondent's offending - Application refused
Employment Law
M (J) v Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, Minister for Justice, Ireland and Attorney General - UNAPPROVED
31/7/226 No. 2025/163 [2026] IECA 164
Employment law - Disciplinary procedures - Judicial review - Probationer member of An Garda Síochána - Suspension - High Court proceedings - Reliefs refused - Appellant appealing from the refusal of reliefs claimed by way of judicial review - Whether the suspension of the appellant pending disciplinary proceedings breached fair procedures - Alleged refusal of the first respondent to provide to the appellant the materials sought by the appellant's solicitors - Alleged failure of the first respondent address or engage with the appellant’s submissions - Whether appellant's suspension was vitiated by delay as it had taken longer than was reasonably necessary to hold an enquiry into the matter - Court finds the proceeding to be misguided and counterproductive - High Court order affirmed - Appeal dismissed
M (J) v Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, Minister for Justice, Ireland and Attorney General
Immigration
M (A) (Algeria) v International Protection Appeals Tribunal and Minister for Justice
27/7/2026 No. 2024 1072 JR [2026] IEHC 527
Immigration - International protection - Judicial review - Applicant seeking an order quashing a decision of the first respondent affirming the recommendation of the International Protection Office refusing to grant the applicant leave to remain and that he be granted neither a refugee declaration nor a subsidiary protection declaration - Credibility assessment - Documentary evidence submitted by the applicant - Whether the first respondent assessed credibility independently of an assessment of the documents provided - Failure to consider country of origin information (COI) - Application granted
M (A) (Algeria) v International Protection Appeals Tribunal and Minister for Justice
M (G) v International Protection Appeals Tribunal and Minister for Justice
10/7/2026 No. 2025 29 JR [2026] IEHC 525
Immigration - International protection - Judicial review - Applicant's challenge to the decision that the applicant be given neither a refugee declaration nor a subsidiary protection declaration - Medical evidence - Alleged failure of the first respondent to adequately consider a Spirasi medical report and to correctly recognise that the applicant had symptoms of PTSD - Alleged failure of the first respondent to properly consider the death threats which it is alleged were made by the applicant's uncle against him - Court finds the first respondent conducted its decision-making process with vigilance and care in the assessment of the applicant's application for international protection - Application refused
M (G) v International Protection Appeals Tribunal and Minister for Justice
Injunctions
Piramal Critical Care BV v Brepco Biopharma Ltd
14/7/2026 No. 2026 1317 P [2026] IEHC 467
Injunction - Plaintiff seeking interlocutory injunctive relief - Contract - Pharmaceuticals - Termination notices - Enforcement - Notices to terminate the commercial arrangements between the parties for the commercialisation of a pharmaceutical product - Plaintiff application for interlocutory injunctive relief seeking to restrain the defendant from implementing the termination notices - Licence agreement - Insolvency argument - Whether damages and adequate remedy - Whether the balance of justice favoured granting the injunction sought - Application granted in part
Piramal Critical Care BV v Brepco Biopharma Ltd
Medical Negligence
McSweeney, Áine v Health Service Executive
30/6/2026 No. 2024 5690 P [2026] IEHC 451
Medical negligence - Clinical negligence - Standard of care - Mammogram - Interpretation of mammogram - Classification - Failure to recall plaintiff for further assessment of a mammogram - Delayed diagnosis - Plaintiff alleging negligence by the defendant - Whether there was a breach of duty - Court held the classification of the mammogram as benign fell outside the range of acceptable professional judgment - Failure to recall the plaintiff for further assessment constituted a breach of duty
McSweeney, Áine v Health Service Executive
Personal Injuries
Loua, Carol v South Dublin County Council; Carol Loua v Cavan Developments Ltd and ors
17/7/2026 Nos. 2019 6000 P; 2020 6397 P [2026] IEHC 511
Personal injuries - Damages claim - Housing estate - Footpath - Trip and fall - Left shoulder injury - Plaintiff contends that the accident locus contained a dangerous defect in the public footpath, caused by tree-root uplift, for which both principal defendants bear responsibility - Defendants deny liability - Doctrine of nonfeasance - Defendants submit that the plaintiff failed to keep an adequate lookout - Expert evidence - Duty of care - Medical reports - Damages awarded to the plaintiff in the sumo €110,000
Loua, Carol v South Dublin County Council; Carol Loua v Cavan Developments Ltd and ors
Mooney, Sharon v Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
15/5/2026 No. 2021 94 SP [2026] IEHC 502
Personal injuries - Garda compensation - Damages claim - Uplift - Applicant sustained injuries in the course of her duties - Assault by a prisoner - Soft tissue injuries - Chronic pain syndrome - Surgery - Impact of psychological sequelae - Assessment of compensation - Loss of earnings - Future pension losses - Damages awarded in the sum of €458,526
Mooney, Sharon v Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Planning and Development
Environmental Trust Ireland v An Coimisiún Pleanála, and Aughinish Alumina Ltd and Limerick Alumina Refining Ltd (notice parties)
19/6/2026 No. 2025 754 JR [2026] IEHC 387
Planning and development - Judicial review - Environmental law - Strategic infrastructure development - Grant of planning permission - Challenge - Applicant seeking certiorari quashing the respondent's decision to grant planning permission to the first notice party - Environmental concerns - Habitats Directive - Bottlenose dolphin - Strict protection and habituation - Heavy metal concentrations in groundwater - Bauxite Residue Disposal Area (BRDA) seepage risk - Flooding risk - Application granted
Practice and Procedure
O'Donnell, Maurice v Dowling, Patsy and ors
17/7/2026 No. 2025/227 [2026] IECA 127
Practice and procedure - Defamation proceedings - Appellant sought damages for defamation - Delay - Prolonged inactivity - Failure to take steps to prosecute action against the sixth and seventh respondents - High Court proceedings - Sixth and seventh respondents sought an order dismissing the plaintiff's proceedings for want of prosecution on the grounds delay - Proceedings dismissed for want of prosecution - Appeal - Whether the trial judge erred in finding that the explanation and/or reason given by the plaintiff for the delay was not a legitimate reason - Whether the trial judge erred in her interpretation and/or application of the principles to be applied when determining whether a proceeding should be dismissed for want of prosecution - Plaintiff's medical condition - Court finds that the appellant had identified no "exceptional situations that he can rely upon for his inactivity" - Appeal dismissed
O'Donnell, Maurice v Dowling, Patsy and ors
Moore, Roberta v Heath Service Executive
28/7/2026 No. 2020 685 P [2026] IEHC 536
Practice and procedure - Personal injuries - Clinical negligence action - Delay - Lapsed personal injuries summons - Renewal - Special circumstances - New expert report - Defendant seeking to set aside the order renewing the summons - Whether the plaintiff's receipt of a later, materially different expert medical opinion, constituted "special circumstances which justify an extension" within O. 8, r. 1(4) of the RSC - Risk of prejudice to the defendant - Court finds that special circumstances justifying the renewal of the summons had not been established - Application granted
Moore, Roberta v Heath Service Executive
Murphy, Frank v Start Mortgages DAC
21/7/2026 No. 2023 2006 P [2026] IEHC 506
Practice and procedure - Property law - Mortgage - Arrears - Possession order - Enforcement - Plaintiff claimed status as "consumer" under the Consumer Credit Acts and the impact of EU Directive 93/13/EEC - Loan agreement - Unfair terms - Defendant seeking dismissal of proceedings as failing to disclose a cause of action and/or amounted to an abuse of process - Whether the proceedings constituted a collateral attack on orders made in other proceedings - Court finds the plaintiff had not shown that any of his rights as a "consumer" were material to the enforceability of the possession order - Proceedings dismissed
Murphy, Frank v Start Mortgages DAC
Property Law
Pepper Finance Corporation (Ireland) DAC v O'Donnell, Derry and Mary Rodgers
27/7/2026 No. 2025 231 CA [2026] IEHC 528
Property law - Mortgage - Arrears - Possession order - Possession order - Stay - Delay - Circuit Court order substituting the plaintiff in these proceedings and granting leave to the plaintiff to issue execution of an order of possession - First defendant appealing against order granting leave to issue execution - Whether the respondent discharged the onus it held legal title to both the loan and the associated mortgage - Court refused appeal against order of substitution - Appeal against order granting leave to issue execution allowed
Pepper Finance Corporation (Ireland) DAC v O'Donnell, Derry and Mary Rodgers
Sexual Offences
Odumosu, Grace v Caffrey, Patrick
22/7/2026 No. 2022 763 P [2026] IEHC 491
Sexual offences - Damages claim - Sexual assault – Plaintiff suffered childhood sexual abuse perpetrated by the defendant (an uncle by marriage) - Plaintiff seeking damages arising out of childhood sexual abuse - Prolonged abuse - Trusted family member - Defendant’s conduct - No apology or acknowledgement of the harm suffered by the plaintiff - Assessment of damages - Compensatory damages - Whether a separate award of aggravated damages was warranted in addition to compensatory damages - Damages awarded to the plaintiff in the sum of €232,360
Odumosu, Grace v Caffrey, Patrick
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
