A JUDGE has ruled that a man and woman who still live in the same house must equally share in the sale of their €500,000 home in Malahide, Co Dublin.
Mr Justice John Edwards said that although Marie Sheehy (64) and Thomas Talbot (71) still lived under the same roof, their relationship had become intolerable.
Rejecting a claim by Mr Talbot for a 70-30 split in his favour of the sale of the house, Judge Edwards said the court had heard there would be enough from a sale for each party to buy separate one-roomed apartments.
Martin Gleeson SC, for Ms Sheehy, had told the High Court the couple had met in 1962 and had “walked out” together for about a year when she was 18 and he was 25. They had parted and had been reintroduced again by a mutual friend in 1990, moving in together as lovers.
Mr Justice Edwards said the couple had initially lived above Ms Sheehy’s “Tuck Shop” in Strand Road, Sutton, which she later sold after the couple had bought the house in Malahide.
Unhappy differences had arisen between them after they had moved to there in 1995 and relations had continued to deteriorate over several years until they were nonexistent. They lived separate lives under the same roof as much as was physically possible.
Ms Sheehy had told the court that relations had become worse because they had been living in a very confined space. She sought an order for partition and sale of the property so each could get on with their lives in smaller properties.
She said Mr Talbot’s every word and motion towards her was demeaning. She agreed they had been lovers after they had moved in together. Mr Talbot said she had made life difficult for him.
Mr Justice Edwards said he was satisfied that both had contributed equally to the acquisition and renovation of the house and that Mr Talbot had made indirect contributions by maintenance and other work.
He said Mr Talbot’s claim for a 70 per cent interest was wholly unrealistic. The court accepted the parties were not friends any more and that life had become intolerable for Ms Sheehy.
Mr Justice Edwards directed that the property be sold with joint carriage of sale shared between Ms Sheehy’s solicitors and a solicitor in Portmarnock as nominated by Mr Talbot.
If Mr Talbot failed to co-operate in the sale or attempted to frustrate it, he would regard this as a contempt of court and the matter could be re-entered for the purposes of seeking to have him possibly committed to prison.
He said each side should bear their own legal costs.