Case Reports

The Board of Management of a secondary school in Wicklow has lost its case against An Bord Pleanála, in which it sought an order of certiorari and various declaratory reliefs based on its failure to comply with the Planning and Development Act 2000 and disregard for anti-obesity policies when grant

The Supreme Court has upheld a finding of the Court of Appeal which overturned an award of almost €130,000 in a case which arose due to the State’s incorrect interpretation of EU law. Accepting that the man at the centre of the proceedings had suffered because of the error, Ms Justice Iseult O�

A man’s conviction for burglary has been quashed in a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court, due to the improper use of the “adverse inferences” provisions of s. 19 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. The man was arrested on suspicion of having been involved in the unlawful discharge of a fire

A woman who had served as captain in the Army for over nine years, and who was excluded from promotion to commandant because she was off on maternity leave, has been awarded €824,794 in damages. In July 2016, the High Court found that Ms Diane Byrne had qualified for fixed period promotion in acco

The owners of Leopardstown race course have successfully appealed a finding of the Court of Appeal, which had overturned the High Court’s conclusion that submissions from a lease-holder on Leopardstown’s land alleging misrepresentation were not credible. The five-judge Supreme Court unanimously

A firefighter has succeeded in overturning Rocommon County Council's decision to dismiss him. Sean Callaghan, a part time retained firefighter based at Castlerea Fire Station sued his employer over its decision to terminate his employment claiming he had breached his contractual obligation to live w

A man who took his employer to court after it said it would not pay the spouse’s pension to his civil partner in the event of his death has had his appeal unanimously allowed by justices in the Supreme Court who found a provision of the Equality Act 2010 incompatible with EU law. John Walker, the

A woman who challenged a ban imposed by three Belgian municipalities on wearing clothing concealing the face in public suffered no discrimination, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. In today’s Chamber judgment in the case of Dakir v Belgium the European Court of Human Rights held, unani

A man who sustained a deep laceration of his right hand as a result of a broken door slamming shut on the glass fish tank he was carrying, has been awarded over €15,000 in the High Court. Stating that the man was guilty of contributory negligence due to his knowledge of the broken door, Ms Justice

Two brothers, against whom Allied Irish Bank Plc obtained a €17.6 million judgment in 2014, have successfully argued that they are entitled to bring a case against the bank for misrepresentation and breach of contract. In the Court of Appeal, President Sean Ryan held that, based on newly revealed

A tenant who sublet his apartment to students, and only made three rent payments since a receiver was appointed in October 2012, has been refused an extension of time to appeal an eviction order made against him. The man was also ordered to pay €11,000 in arrears and damages. Dismissing the appeal

A man who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his cousin in 2014 has successfully appealed his conviction on the basis that the trial judge erred in not advising him, while conducting his own defence, that if he did not present evidence to support an altered version of events in the

In response to a certified question for appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Supreme Court has held that it is not a correct principle of sentencing to treat as mitigation the fact that an accused person who is convicted following a trial did not give false evidence. Delivering the una

Two women who were forced to work in Magdalen laundries have been granted an order of certiorari, quashing the refusal of the Minister for Justice and Equality to admit them to a government compensation scheme. Mr Justice Michael White refused to grant relief on the basis that the decision was unrea

A former NAMA adviser who was the subject of several BBC Spotlight broadcasts in 2016, has had his application for an interlocutory injunction to prevent further broadcasts declined in the High Court in Belfast.The application was based on assertions that, inter alia, further broadcasts would amount