A High Court judge has warned a woman and her former partner who broke into and re-occupied her former south Dublin residence they face serious consequences if they breach an injunction restraining interference with the property.
The pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were before the court after a house, formerly owned by the man and where his former partner and their two teenage daughters had resided, was re-entered last Monday evening, resulting in eight new occupants being forced out.
Shawl Property Investments Ltd, which last September bought the house from a receiver appointed by a financial fund over the property, secured a temporary injunction last Wednesday against the pair requiring them to leave the premises.
When the matter returned on Friday, Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds was informed the property had been vacated, a set of keys handed over and the company had regained access to the house.
The man and woman gave sworn undertakings they would not interfere with the property until Shawl’s full case has been determined.
The judge, agreeing to adjourn the case for a week to allow the couple respond to the allegations against them, warned of serious consequences of any failure to comply with the undertakings and noted undertakings given by them and others regarding the same property had not been complied with in the past.
Noting the woman had already spent more than 100 days in prison for her failure to comply with earlier orders to vacate the property, the judge warned any breach of the latest order could see both of them jailed for contempt.
The judge said she was concerned the couple’s daughters were being used as “pawns” in this matter and had been exposed to things they ought not to be. The Child and Family Agency, represented in court by Sarah McKechnie BL, is now aware of the situation and it was up to them what steps to take, the judge said.
‘Disturbing’ tweets
She also expressed concern about “disturbing” posts on social media about Shawl’s two directors and suggested steps be taken to get Twitter to deal with the posts. The man said the social media posts had nothing to do with him.
Shawl, represented by Rossa Fanning SC, with Stephen Byrne BL, claims there has been “orchestrated attempts” by persons connected to the couple to force the directors and their tenants out of the Dublin 6 property, and from another house in Dublin 4 bought by Shawl and previously owned by the man.
There were attempts to break into the properties, one of the directors was assaulted, and they have been subject of a campaign of intimidation and harassment on social media, Shawl claims.
Last Monday the company claimed the man and six accomplices broke into the Dublin 6 property, changed the locks and forced the occupants out.
The woman and the defendants’ teenage daughters entered the house later on that evening, it claimed.
Shawl rejects claims the property is owned by a trust established last September in favour of the defendants’ daughters and contends the occupation was illegal and the couple well know they have no rights to the property.
EBS judgment
The house is one of several purchased by the man with EBS loans over a decade ago.
EBS Ltd got a €9.4m judgment against him in 2011 over the loans which had been secured on the properties. A receiver was appointed over the properties, none of which, the court was previously told, were ever a family home.
Beltany Property Finance acquired the loans from EBS in 2017.
The woman claimed she got orders in family law proceedings including a right of residence in the Dublin 6 property and would have been surrendering her family law rights if she had vacated it. After her claims were rejected by the courts, the receiver sold the properties to Shawl.
After the woman refused to comply with orders granting the receiver possession, she was jailed for contempt last May and released in late August on foot of undertakings she and the children would vacate the property.