Case Reports

A couple in Germany whose four children were temporarily taken into care because they insisted on homeschooling them did not suffer a violation of their article 8 rights, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled. In yesterday's Chamber judgment in the case of Wunderlich v Germany, the co

Three businessmen who were granted a €9.4 million loan from EBS Building Society in 2009 have successfully argued that they are entitled to defend Promontoria’s claim for the €9.7 million now owed. Refusing to grant summary judgment to Promontoria, Mr Justice David Barniville wa

A man who was subjected to bullying by a senior member of staff has been awarded €26,000 in compensation in the Workplace Relations Commission. Describing the events, some of which had been filmed and posted on Facebook, as "an extraordinary culture of behaviour in the workplace", Adjudication

A woman who was the foster mother of a baby with serious health issues has had her application for judicial review dismissed in the High Court. The child, who weighed only 720gms at birth, was in the care of the foster mother for over a year when the decision was made to place the child with the cou

A man whose suspended sentence for driving offences was reactivated after he was convicted of dangerous driving causing death and serious bodily harm has successfully argued that he is entitled to the benefit of the declaration of unconstitutionality in Moore. Delivering the leading judgment of the

Two men who were found guilty of the murder of a man in South Belfast have been given minimum terms of 20 years imprisonment, and another man has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years for assisting them by hiding the shotgun in his bedroom. Describing how the men who went to the deceased’s

An adhesive company has failed to appeal a finding of liability against it in a claim for damages brought by a kitchen door manufacturer based in Cookstown. It was found by an independent expert in the High Court that the glue supplied by the adhesive company was not suitable for use with the MDF us

The son of a 93-year-old woman, who has been made a ward of court and is residing in a nursing home on the basis of medical advice, has had his application for her release into his care refused in the Supreme Court. The man has been engaged in a multiplicity of legal proceedings in relation to his m

An accomplished GAA and rugby player who injured his knee when his foot went into a small hole beside a chamber owned by Eircom has been awarded €51,936 in the High Court. Finding that Eircom was responsible for maintaining the concrete around the chamber, Mr Justice Robert Barr was satisfied t

The former CEO of the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA) has been sentenced to nine months imprisonment, suspended for two years, after he pleaded guilty to fraud earlier this year. The former CEO had taken approximately £40,000 from the charity over a seven-year p

A 21-year-old man who had 33 previous convictions when he was sentenced to three years imprisonment for two burglaries has had his sentence increased after the Director of Public Prosecutions argued that the sentences should be reviewed on grounds of undue leniency. Finding that the overall sentence

Rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, who were acquitted on counts of rape earlier this year, have had their applications for costs of their defence dismissed in Belfast Crown Court. Emphasising that the myriad of conclusions were for the jury to reach rather than the prosecution, Her Honou

A receiver has had his motion claiming possession of a woman’s holiday house in Killarney refused in the High Court. Finding that the receiver had not sufficiently made out the case that he was entitled to possession of the property, Mr Justice Senan Allen pointed to a number of gaps “in

A mother who sought to appeal the decision of the High Court that an interim care order made in respect of her baby without hearing all of the evidence was not a fundamental denial of justice has had her case dismissed in the Court of Appeal. Agreeing with the High Court that there had been no breac

Section 17 of the Scottish Parliament's ‘Brexit Bill’ – which requires Scottish Ministers’ consent to certain subordinate legislation – is ultra vires of the Scotland Act, which it would modify, though the bill is not entirely outwith the devolved legislature's competen