Case Reports

The widow of a man who died in 2003 must be removed as the administratrix of his estate and appoint a firm of professional trustees in her place, the High Court has ruled. Two daughters of the deceased brought the case to replace their mother as administratrix due to a number of inconsistencies in t

The Supreme Court has granted leave to retired solicitor Brian O’Donnell and his wife Dr Mary Patricia O’Donnell to appeal the award of costs which was made against them in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, to be paid outside their bankruptcy estates. Chief Justice Denham, Justice Dunne, a

The High Court has refused a teacher’s application for judicial review of a disciplinary procedure imposed by his employer, finding that it was not a matter which should be dealt with by the Court. The relevant disciplinary procedure was a final written warning which was issued by the private scho

The Children’s Court at Dublin Metropolitan District Court has ruled that the trial of a man who was a minor at the time of the offence for which he is accused must go ahead, despite allegations of prosecutorial delay resulting in prejudice against the accused who is now an adult. Judge John O’C

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a five-year sentence with three suspended given to a man who “could not have been more co-operative with the Garda investigation” into the €630,000 worth of cannabis found in his possession was not unduly lenient. Delivering the judgment of the three-judge Co

A murderer who sought reduction of his conviction to manslaughter on the basis the statutory test for the Scots-derived defence of diminished responsibility requires that the judge defines for the jury the word “substantial” in “substantially impaired” has had his appeal unanimously dismisse

The Supreme Court has ruled that a man sentenced to four years' imprisonment for sexual offences against a young girl in the 1990s should be released after the Court of Criminal Appeal quashed a prior conviction which had been taken into account by the judge who ordered the four-year sentence. The m

The Court of Appeal ruled that the Swedish system of pre-trial incarceration does not amount to such an egregious violation of human rights that surrendering a man accused of rape under a European arrest warrant ought to be refused as a result. The man accused of rape in Sweden was unsuccessful in c

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a solicitor is entitled to damages as a result of negligent misstatement and misrepresentation in respect of oral and written statements made by the former Anglo Irish Bank. Delivering the judgment of the three-judge Court, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan found that even t

In ongoing defamation proceedings brought by Ryanair against a pilot formerly in their employ, the Court of Appeal has refused to make an order directing the pilot to provide further and better particulars. Affirming the decision of the High Court, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan ruled that it would be unfa

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a farmer who acted as a guarantor for his brother’s loan has an arguable defence against the bank which is seeking judgment against him for over €170,000 – therefore the case must be given a full hearing. The bank had sought a summary judgment, but Mr Justice

In an ongoing defamation case brought by a former Garda who was written about in a Sunday Times publication, the Court of Appeal has ruled that the discovery of journalist’s notes and other background material relevant to the publication, as requested by the former Garda, was not specific enough t

A five-judge Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a claim for damages for alleged medical negligence brought by a woman against a Dublin hospital did not survive her death, as per section 7(2) of the Civil Liability Act 1961. Background

The Supreme Court has ruled that, by failing to give adequate reasons for his decision to summarily dismiss a Sergeant in 2013, the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána acted contrary to his implied duty under Regulation 39 of the Garda Síochána (Discipline) Regulations 2007 and in breach of the pr

of third parties. The body must be prepared within a very short time of death, ideally within minutes and at most within a few hours. Arrangements then have to be made for it to be transported by a registered funeral director to the premises in the United States where it is to be stored. “Evident