Case Reports

A woman whose car was rear-ended at traffic lights has been awarded €85,000 in general damages for pain and suffering caused by the accident. Stating that the extent of the injuries caused by the low speed crash were worsened as a result of existing degenerative changes in the woman’s spi

A 24-year-old man who followed an 81-year-old woman from a shop and stole her purse has lost an appeal against his sentence of three years with the final 18 months suspended. Finding that the sentencing judge had not erred in attaching weight to the fact that the offence was against an elderly and v

A man who complained that the medical expert fees included in the bill of costs of the hospital and consultant in his medical negligence claim were so unusually high as to indicate a conflict of interest has lost his appeal to the Supreme Court. Although commenting that the fact that the fees were n

A man who deposited land certificates with Ulster Bank as security for his indebtedness has won an appeal against the finding that a vulture fund, which bought the loan asset and related security, had the benefit of a lien by deposit over his lands. The Supreme Court unanimously overturned the

Facebook has lost an appeal against the decision to refer a complaint about EU-US data transfer to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling. Emphasising that there were significant limitations on the issues which could be considered on such an appeal, the Chief Justice, Mr

Three men who were charged with the murder of a man in Carrickfergus have been found not guilty of all charges against them. Concluding that he could not find the men guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, Mr Justice Gerry McAlinden described the self-styled paramilitary organisations to which the men we

A woman has been granted a declaration that the Public Accounts Committee acted unlawfully in conducting a public hearing in a manner significantly outside its terms of reference, which also departed significantly from the terms of her invitation to attend the hearing. Delivering the Supreme Court's

The Supreme Court has overturned a decision of the High Court which declared that section 9(1)(b) of the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 offended the constitutional right to remain silent. Also finding that the definitional elements of the crime under this section were clear, Mr

The Supreme Court has ruled that the arrest of a 26-year-old man, who had applied for residency on the basis of his father’s marriage to an EU national, was unlawful and that he was not detained in accordance with the law. The arrest was made prior to the refusal of his application, and Mr Jus

The Supreme Court has dismissed a "rare and exceptional" application from the Minister of Agriculture to review a judgment relating to negligent misstatement by government officials. The Minister submitted that, in upholding the High Court’s finding of liability for economic loss and an award

A hospital has lost an appeal against the finding that the two-year limitation period for issuing personal injury proceedings began when the plaintiff received a doctor’s medical report based on hospital records – not when he was informed in the weeks after his surgery that he had contra

The Sunday World has lost an appeal against the finding that two articles it published about a former GAA footballer were seriously defamatory and warranted an award of €310,000 in damages. Dismissing the Sunday World’s appeal, Mr Justice Michael Peart allowed the man’s cross-appeal

A man who accepted a job as a minibus driver for a charity had his job offer withdrawn a month later on the basis of his age, despite having submitted at least five documents displaying his date of birth in the application process. The Workplace Relations Commission found his complaint of age discri

A man whose horse was seized by Galway County Council and destroyed as a result of unpaid fees incurred as a result of the same seizure has been granted an order setting aside the decision to dispose of the horse by way of destruction. Stating that the destruction was disproportionate, Mr Justice Ga

The Court of Appeal in Belfast has found that a five-month sentence imposed on a man convicted of sexually assaulting his two-year-old son was unduly lenient. The man served just two-and-a-half months of his sentence, and was not subject to a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO).