Case Reports

Northern Ireland’s Crown Court has ruled that a former British soldier was responsible for the manslaughter of Aiden McAnespie in 1988. The court found that the soldier acted with gross negligence by handling a cocked machine gun where he was under no pressure and in no danger. The defendant,

The High Court has allowed an appeal against an order striking out a plaintiff’s proceedings on the basis that the proceedings did not offend the rule in Henderson v. Henderson (1843) 3 Hare 100. The plaintiff had issued a previous set of proceedings arising from the same incident and the Circ

The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal to dismiss a personal injuries action in which the plaintiff slipped on ice outside his own apartment. The plaintiff sued the management company for damages, claiming that it had been negligent by not gritting the landing, not maintaining nosing strips on th

The High Court has granted an order of certiorari quashing the entirety of an indicative road route which ran through the applicants’ lands. In so ruling, the court considered whether the applicants were entitled to their full legal costs despite not having won every legal point in the court&r

A judge in the English Court of Protection has ruled that the parents of a student who died from a stroke could not remove and store his sperm for the purpose of later conceiving a grandchild after an urgent hearing was convened to decide the matter. At the time of the hearing the relevant person, X

The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal against the dismissal of two personal injuries claims for women who claimed to be injured while riding a swing in a playground with toddlers. A central feature of the case was a dispute between experts as to the minimum height clearance of the swing from the

Northern Ireland’s High Court has found that a farmer whose removal of trees may have resulted in increased water seeping into his neighbour’s land is not liable for the damage caused. The court found the change in use of the land was “entirely reasonable”, and an occupier is

The Supreme Court has granted a leapfrog appeal to the HSE regarding the jurisdiction of a Complaints Officer to direct the delivery of services to disabled children. The High Court had previously held that an Complaints Officer and a Disability Appeals Officer may direct the delivery of services to

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against conviction brought by a man who sexually abused his niece between 1981 and 1989. The main point of appeal related to the unavailability of certain documentary evidence of counselling records for the complainant. Delivering judgment in the case, Mr

The High Court has quashed a decision of the Minister of Justice and Equality to refuse a naturalisation application for a Somali woman on the grounds that she was not of good character pursuant to the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956. The applicant had submitted a false passport with the

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected an appeal against a contact order where the applicant was refusing to accept her son’s guilt in relation to the death of a child in his care. The court found that the applicant was prioritising her relationship with her son over her relationship

The High Court has held that insurance companies are not entitled to recover monies under the Recovery of Benefits and Assistance Scheme where they have settled personal injuries cases outside of court. It was held that a “consent settlement order” was not an “order of the court&rd

The Supreme Court has determined that the proposed ratification of an EU-Canada trade deal by the State is unconstitutional because the trade deal would compromise judicial sovereignty in Ireland. The trade deal, known as CETA, provided for an investor tribunal which had powers to make binding and e

Northern Ireland’s High Court has refused an application for judicial review where it found that the applicant’s probation release had been delayed by factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic and his own failed drug tests. In considering this application, the court found that one of the rel

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal brought by a defendant in a personal injuries action in which the High Court rejected an application to dismiss the proceedings pursuant to section 26 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004. The High Court had determined that the defendant had improper