Case law update - 12 December
Recent superior court cases cover aviation, criminal law, environmental law, family law, fisheries, immigration, injunctions, planning and development, practice and procedure and more.
Recent cases published on the Courts website are listed below.
- Aviation
- Criminal Law
- Environmental Law
- Family Law
- Fisheries
- Immigration
- Injunctions
- Planning and Development
- Practice and Procedure
Aviation
Aer Lingus Limited v Irish Aviation Authority; and DAA plc and Airport Coordination Limited (notice parties); Ryanair DAC v Irish Aviation Authority; and DAA plc and Airport Coordination Limited (notice parties); Air Transport Association of America, Inc (trading as Airlines for America), Delta Airlines, Inc and ors v Irish Aviation Authority; and Airport Coordination Limited, Ryanair DAC and ors (notice parties)
4/11/2024 Nos. 2024/1296 JR, 2024/1297 JR, 2024/1299 JR [2024] IEHC 624
Aviation - Summer 2025 passenger cap - 2007 planning condition - Decision to limit passenger numbers during the summer 2025 period - Applicants seeking orders placing a stay on the implementation or operation of the Passenger Air Traffic Movement (PATM) seat cap determined by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) - Planning conditions - Compliance - Whether airlines would suffer immediate serious consequences - Whether there would be serious disruption for the public and potential harmful effects for the broader economy - Stay granted on the operation and implementation of the PATM
Criminal Law
People (DPP) v Hutchinson, Lee
21/10/2024 No. 259/2024 [2024] IECA 260
Criminal law - Sentencing - Appellant sentenced to 6 years imprisonment with 1 year suspended on conditions in respect of each of the 3 counts of harassment against members of An Garda Siochana - Appeal against sentence - Statutory maximum identified at sentencing of 10 years was incorrect - Trial judge erred in placing the matter at the higher end of the gravity of offending - Guilty plea - Insufficient weight in mitigation - Appeal allowed
Environmental Law
Toole, Ivan and Golden Venture Fishing Limited v Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and Codling Wind Park Limited and the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (by order) (notice parties)
1/11/2024 No. 2023/949 [2024] IEHC 610
Environmental law - Grant of foreshore licence - Environmental survey - Proposed offshore wind farm - Challenge - Appropriate assessments analysis - EU sites - Protection - Omitted conditions - Impact on European sites - Failure to provide reasoned explanation - Amendment to foreshore licence - Orders made
Family Law
C v D
7/2/2024 No. 2023/73 CAF [2024] IEHC 638
Family law - Child - Relocation application - Applicant mother wishes to travel with her child to the United States - Circuit court proceedings - Custody and access - Circuit court order refusing permission to relocate - Appeal - Best interests of the child - Relationship with father in Ireland - Education arrangements - Maintenance payments - Circuit court order affirmed - Application to relocate refused
Fisheries
Salmon Watch Ireland clg v Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board and ors; and Bradan Fanad Teo t/a Marine Harvest Ireland, Comhlucht Iascaireachta Fanad Teoranta t/a Mowi Ireland and ors (notice parties); Inland Fisheries Ireland v Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board and anor; and Bradan Fanad Teo trading as Marine Harvest Ireland and ors (notice parties); Peter Sweetman, Federation of Irish Salmon and Sea Trout Anglers and anor v Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board, ors; and Bradan Fanad Teo t/a Marine Harvest Ireland and anor (notice parties)
31/10/2024 Nos. 2021/823 JR; 2021/828 JR; 2021/831 JR [2024] IEHC 608
Fisheries - Salmon farm - Aquaculture licence and Foreshore licence issued for the cultivation of Atlantic salmon - Licences quashed - Inadequate assessments of environmental impacts - Failure to adequately screen the effects of seal scarers on seals - Salmon escape risk - Water quality standards - Remedy - Remittal - Court has jurisdiction to remit the decisions back to ALAB and the Minister for reconsideration
Immigration
M v Chief International Protection Officer and Minister for Justice
1/11/2024 No. 2023/597 JR [2024] IEHC 623
Immigration - Applicant a Georgian national - Asylum application - Questionnaire - "s. 35 interview" - Provision of Georgian interpreter - Adverse credibility findings - Recommendation that the applicant should be given neither a refugee declaration, nor a subsidiary protection declaration - Applicant seeks an order of certiorari quashing the recommendation - Inadequacy in translation - Failure to provide the applicant with lawful, appropriate or accurate services of interpretation and/or translation - Claim dismissed
Injunctions
Croghan, Alan, Amanda Farrelly and Melissa Kelly v Collins, Paul, Tanya Hennigan and ors
31/10/2024 No. 2024/4410 P [2024] IEHC 607
Injunctions - Interlocutory injunction - Plaintiffs seeking reliefs inter alia an injunction against the housing of migrants at a former industrial estate site - Mandatory injunction on the relevant public representatives to adhere to the precautionary principle and halt this project immediately in accordance with TFEU Art. 191 - Principles applicable - Whether the actions of certain plaintiffs are in breach of the precautionary principle and breach of Aarhus public participation rights - Xenophobia - Discrimination - Whether there is a fair question to be tried - Whether the case is unstateable - Application for interlocutory injunctions refused
Planning and Development
Baile Bhruachlain Teoranta, Coill Bhruachlain Teoranta and ors v Galway County Council
1/11/2024 No. 2022/689 JR [2024] IEHC 604
Planning and development - Lands - Zoning - Landowners submissions to the council primarily seeking rezoning of their lands to residential or tourism uses - Area specified for tourism purposes zoned as open space - Landowners' application for certiorari - Council's summary of their submissions was inadequate - Failure to provide reasons for open space zoning - Zoning decision upheld - Application dismissed
Practice and Procedure
Yasar, Ugur v CCC Essen Digital GmbH and Facebook Ireland Limited; Abuzar Talibov v CCC Essen Digital GmbH and Meta Platforms Ireland Limited; Kyra Senen v CCC Barcelona Digital Services S.L.U. and Facebook Ireland Limited
15/10/2024 Nos. 2022/650 P; 2022/4639 P; 2022/170 P [2024] IEHC 620
Practice and procedure - Discovery - Interlocutory challenge to jurisdiction - Social media platform - Contract - Provision of content moderation activities on the Meta/Facebook platform - Disclosure of documentation from first named defendant - Personal injuries claim - Content moderators - Psychological injuries caused from being exposed to graphic and violent content - Negligence - Liability - Jurisdiction - Criteria - Whether there is a prima facie case against the 'anchor defendant' (Meta/Facebook) - Discovery refused
Wachman, Katherine, John Paul Magnier and John Magnier v Barne Estate Limited, IQ EQ One (Jersey) Limited and ors
5/11/2024 No. 2023/5036 P [2024] IEHC 627
Practice and procedure - Documentation - Privilege - Property - Sale - Advisor - Deal to buy estate - Alleged that no enforceable sale took place - Agreement to sell to someone else - Legal advice from solicitor - Solicitor did not hold a practising certificate - Whether legal advice or advice - Whether documents are covered under legal privilege and can be disclosed in court - S. 55 of the Solicitors Act 1954 - Whether solicitor could have committed a legal offence - Attempt to claim legal privilege over documents that were not provided to him by a practising solicitor - Documents in question must be disclosed to the defence as they are not covered by legal privilege
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
