Case Reports

As another year draws to a close, lawyers across Ireland will be settling down for the Christmas break. December is always a busy period as both clients and the courts are keen to finalise matters before every sits down to turkey, selection boxes and (for those inclined) festive tipples for three we

Northern Ireland's High Court has determined that a personal injury settlement which a man received two years before his bankruptcy did not form part of the bankruptcy estate. The court found that the sum satisfied a statutory exception, and should be excluded because it represented provisions neces

The High Court has released Enoch Burke from prison, stating that this was “one of the very rare cases where the coercive imprisonment should stop”. It was held that Mr Burke was motivated to remain in prison, having made a number of illogical decisions during the course of the litigatio

The High Court has restored a company to the Register of Companies despite objections from the director that the applicant had no locus standi to bring the application. The applicant was the assignee of loans which had transferred after the strike off from the Register and the director claimed that

The High Court has dismissed two claims for personal injuries involving a minor accident on the basis that the plaintiffs gave "false and inconsistent" evidence in the case. A central feature of the case related to one of the plaintiffs being referred to medical consultants by her solicitor, which t

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has upheld a 19-year prison sentence for offences committed by a father against his 12-day-old son. The court accepted that this was a stiff sentence, but found it reasonable given the nature of the acts in question, and given the appellant’s lack of re

The High Court has awarded €89,000 to a man who received a tear to his rotator cuff and psychiatric damage in a road traffic accident. In so ruling, the court applied the principles contained in the Personal Injuries Guidelines for compensation for multiple injuries. Delivering judgment in the

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the son of a defendant to possession proceedings may not represent his father in an appeal despite the fact that the son represented his father on numerous occasions in the High Court. The son had appeared 28 times in procedural lists on behalf of the defendant and

The High Court has dismissed a challenge by parents of a newborn baby who died shortly after his birth against a coroner’s verdict that the child died from natural causes. The parents identified a range of complaints, including that the decision was irrational, that insufficient time was provi

The High Court has ruled that a debtor must pay the costs of a creditor’s bankruptcy petition despite discharging the underlying debt in the case. The court has asked parties to address the issue of liability for costs because previous judges had taken a view that creditors were not entitled t

The UK Supreme Court has cleared the way for the enactment of the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Northern Ireland) Bill after ruling it does not infringe on the right to freedom of assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court found that placing limitations on wher

The Supreme Court has allowed an appeal brought by an accused who claimed that the Court of Appeal failed to consider the totality principle in his case. The man had successfully argued in the Court of Appeal that the trial judge had erred in sentencing him for several indecent assault offences, but

The High Court has delivered two further decisions on the Recoverable Benefits and Assistance (RBA) Scheme, holding that it is permissible for practitioners to seek consent orders apportioning liability between the parties to personal injuries actions. In so ruling, the judges rejected the reasoning

Northern Ireland’s High Court has found that a failure by police to properly investigate a suspected 1976 murder is potentially a breach of their common law and statutory duty. The court granted judicial review, finding that this question was an important point of public law.

The Circuit Court has dismissed an appeal from a decision by the Data Protection Commission that a verbal disclosure by a barrister regarding a conflict of interest did not breach their GDPR obligations. The appeal was taken by a former client of the barrister who claimed that the disclosure breache