Case law update -  26 September

Recent superior court cases cover arbitration, criminal law, criminal procedure, employment law, financial services, immigration, practice and procedure and more.

Recent cases published on the Courts website are listed below.

Arbitration

Parkdenton Limited v Euro General Retail Limited t/a Eurogiant

22/7/2024 No. 2023/329 MCA [2024] IEHC 387

Arbitration - Arbitration award - Commercial lease - Rent review - Quantum of rent to be paid - Mechanism and basis of assessment for the rent - Applicant seeking to set aside an arbitration award - Validity of applicant's claim - Whether the arbitrator’s award contained matters beyond the scope of the submission and evidence in the arbitration - Application dismissed

VTG Entreprenad AB v Mainline Power Limited

10/7/2024 No. 2024/280 MCA [2024] IEHC 455

Arbitration - Windfarm project - Contract - Dispute - Arbitration awards - Enforcement - Arbitral award made by an Arbitral Tribunal in Sweden - Application for the recognition and enforcement of a partial arbitral award in Ireland - Validity of award - Order made recognising and enforcing the partial arbitral award

Criminal Law

People (DPP) v M (T) and C C

14/6/2024 Nos. 98/2023 & 101/2023 [2024] IECA 174

Criminal law - Offences of rape, sexual assault and false imprisonment against children - Second appellant is the mother of the injured parties - Conviction - First appellant sentenced to 19 years imprisonment - Second appellant sentenced to 14 years imprisonment - Appeal against conviction on various grounds - Specialist interviewers - Cross examination of child witnesses - Disclosures - Admissibility - Whether the trial judge erred in refusing to direct a not guilty verdict on the basis of People (at the suit of the Director of Public Prosecutions) v. PO'C - Appeals against conviction of both appellants dismissed

Criminal Procedure

People (DPP) v McHugh, Brian

4/7/2024 No. 111/2024 [2024] IECA 176

Criminal procedure - Exclusion by a judge of identification evidence - Criminal trial - Murder - Evidence - CCTV - Identification of a suspect - Proximate in time and place to the murder of the victim - Legal assessment of evidence - Jury assessment - S. 7 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2021 - Admissibility of evidence - Reliability of evidence - Evidence of identification, asserted by the prosecution to be proximate in time and place to the murder of the victim, should be restored for the consideration of the jury

People (DPP) v O'Neill, Edmond (Eamon), Colm Geary, and ors

31/7/2024 No. 111/2024 [2024] IECA 204

Criminal law - Search warrants - Exclusion of evidence - S. 7 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2021 - Appeal against a ruling excluding evidence obtained from a search warrant where the trial judge found the warrant was based on inadequate and deceptive information provided to the issuing judge - Breach of constitutional rights of the accused - Reasonable suspicion to justify the issuance of a search warrant - Unlawful detention during search - Whether an accused may seek exclusion of evidence on the grounds of rights allegedly violated for another individual - Whether the findings of the trial judge can be overturned based on erroneous assessments - Evidence is of sufficient potential cogency as to require the reversal of the trial judge's decision and the admission of the evidence

Employment Law

An Bord Banistiochta and Gaelscoil Moshiolog v Labour Court, and Aodhagan O Suird and Department of Education (notice parties)

31/7/2024 No. 111/2023 [2024] IESC 38

Employment law - Unfair dismissal - School Principal - Professional misconduct - Pupil enrolment figures - Falsification of documents - Board of management - Disciplinary procedures - Dismissal - Proportionality - Remedies - Re-engagement and reinstatement - New principal appointed - Impact of reinstatement on school environment - Orders made

Financial Services

Utmost Paneurope DAC v Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman and T G

10/7/2024 No. 2020/49 MCA [2024] IEHC 422

Financial services - Pensions - Group income protection policy - Benefits - Cessation of payment of benefits - Complaint - Decision of the Ombudsman to reinstate benefits - Statutory appeal brought by the appellant against the decision - Appellant asserts that the decision is flawed and vitiated by a series of serious and significant errors and inconsistencies - Order made setting aside the decision of the Ombudsman and remitting the decision to the Ombudsman for fresh consideration

Immigration

Z (A), M Z and C Z (a minor suing by his mother and next friend M Z) v Minister for Justice and Equality, in the matter of Section 5 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act, 2000 (as amended)

25/7/2024 No. 37/2023 [2024] IESC 35

Immigration - Deportation order - Family - Child - Family circumstances - Appeal regarding the Minister's failure to adequately consider the impact of a deportation order on a non-national's Irish citizen family members - Impact on child - Proportionality assessment - Whether the Minister adequately considered the best interests of the child when deciding to deport a non-national parent - Order of the trial judge quashing the Minister's decision to refuse to revoke the deportation order upheld - Appeal dismissed

T (T) (transfer decision) v International Protection Appeals Tribunal, Minister for Justice, and ors

31/7/2024 No. 2024/427 JR [2024] IEHC 470

Immigration - Judicial review - Application for international protection - Application rejected - Challenge to decision - "Take back" mechanism - Whether the significant delay on the part of the Irish State in notifying the European Commission of the designation of IPAT as one of the competent authorities for the purpose of the Dublin III Regulation - Applicant argues the Irish State is precluded, by reason of this delay, from purporting to transfer his application for international protection to another Member State under the Dublin III Regulation - Validity of the decision not affected by the delay - Application for judicial review dismissed in its entirety

Practice and Procedure

Padden, John v McDarby, Michael, Sean Acton, and ors - UNAPPROVED

31/7/2024 No. 2024/82 [2024] IECA 207

Practice and procedure - Delay - Plaintiff involved in road traffic accident - Personal injury claim - Plaintiff instructed the Defendants - Civil bill expired without having been served - Plenary summons was issued claiming damages for negligence against the defendants for allowing the proceedings to become statute barred - Defendants seek to have the proceedings dismissed on the basis of the delay of the plaintiff - Balance of justice - Whether the defendants had established prejudice - Appeal dismissed

 

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