Case Reports

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against a coroner’s decision not to grant properly interested person status (PIP) to a witness during a death inquiry. The coroner found that the survivor witness did not have sufficient grounds for the elevated status, as the in

The High Court has awarded €69,000 in damages to a delivery driver who suffered a knee injury after stepping into a pothole while alighting his vehicle. The defendant was Tipperary County Council which was the authority in charge of the road. Delivering an ex tempore judgment in the case, Mr Ju

The High Court has ruled that an applicant was not entitled to an order restraining his prosecution for an assault allegedly committed as a child despite culpable prosecutorial delay by the authorities. The incident occurred in May 2017 when the applicant was 16 years old but he was only summonsed b

The High Court has dismissed a personal injuries action brought against a school by a former student alleging negligence in the conduct of a PE class. The student claimed that a relay race had been organised negligently and, as a result, he fell into a wall. Delivering judgment in the case, Ms Justi

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has rejected a reference brought by the Northern Ireland Director for Public Prosecutions (NI DPP) which alleged that a 9-year sentence, for counts including the rape of a child, was unduly lenient. The court found that although the sentence was at the lowest

The High Court has refused a school’s application to dismiss personal injuries proceedings for delay despite the plaintiff’s solicitors failing to respond to requests for a hearing date for 20 months. The plaintiff was a former student at the school who alleged that she was pushed down t

The High Court has ruled that a young woman who sustained significant scarring to her face in a road traffic accident was entitled to €86,000 for her injuries. The total award was reduced by 20 percent to account for the plaintiff’s contribution to the accident by failing to wear a seat b

The Court of Appeal has quashed the conviction of an alleged child sexual abuser on the grounds that the trial judge did not correctly charge the jury in respect of the doctrine of recent complaint evidence. The accused’s counsel has not raised a requisition at the time or in the original noti

The High Court has dismissed Ammi Burke’s challenge to a Workplace Relations Commission decision based on the “extraordinarily unusual and unprecedented nature of the applicant’s conduct”. Ms Burke had brought a WRC complaint against her former employer Arthur Cox LLP allegin

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that a child return order under the Hague Convention should not have been stayed pending the outcome of his mother’s UK asylum appeal application. The court highlighted that the return order was directed towards Switzerland, the child&rsq

The Court of Appeal has held that section 47 of the Family Law Act 1995 does not confer a jurisdiction on a court to direct the preparation of a psychologists’ report concerning the welfare of a child where no specific relief is sought relating to child welfare. The legislation had received li

The High Court has held that the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) does not have jurisdiction to determine whether a valid tenancy existed in possession proceedings and, as such, refused an application by a defendant to adjourn the High Court proceedings until the RTB made a determination on the ten

The Court of Appeal has upheld a four-year disqualification from driving for a man who killed a 50-year-old woman in a rear-ending collision. The woman had been the passenger in a car driven by her daughter at the time of the accident. Delivering judgment in the case, Mr Justice John Edwards held th

The High Court has ruled that a plaintiff may proceed with a personal injuries claim for general damages despite being in breach of an unless order which required the proceedings to be dismissed. The plaintiff had previously agreed by consent to provide particulars of special damages but had failed

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected all grounds of a judicial review application regarding the height of a hedge in a Belfast neighbourhood. The court supported the tribunal decision which found that the hedge blocked light, and rejected claims that the decision was unlawful or gender-b