Legal professional privilege was a pressing social need necessitating prior restraint of publication
O'Brien vs Raidió Teilifís Éireann [2015]IEHC 379 (High Court, Binchy J, June 12th, 2015) High Court: a) varies portions of its own prior order, by consent, following certain utterances made in Dáil Éireann relating to the plaintiff businessman's financial affairs where such information was now in the public domain; but b) refuses to vacate the prior order in its entirety or to permit defendant to release information relating to legal advices received by the plaintiff, where the court was not satisfied that the information was already in the public domain and the absolute nature of the plaintiff's right to legal professional privilege was a pressing social need which necessitated the continued restraint from publication of such information lest there be any undermining of confidence in the administration of justice.
– Ian Fitzharris BL
Self-evidently unlawful behaviour in breach of public order did not require a warning before criminal liability attached
DPP vs Fitzsimons [2015]IEHC 403 (High Court, Kearns P, June 26th, 2015) High Court, by way of case stated from the District Court, determines that a man accused of offensive conduct did not need to be specifically warned that the failure to comply with a request from the gardaí was a criminal offence, on grounds that the conduct in question (pulling down his trousers and exposing himself to two female gardaí) was self-evidently and notoriously criminal in nature.
– Ciarán Joyce BL
High Court agrees to direct examination of accountancy firm in aid of US litigation
Cutler vs Azur Pharma International III Ltd [2015]IEHC 355 (High Court, Noonan J, June 10th, 2015) High Court refuses to set aside order granting judicial assistance to the superior court of California, namely to direct the examination of a representative of an Irish accountancy firm in relation to its role as auditor of a firm involved in US litigation, but varies the previous order.
– Conor O’Higgins
Petition to wind up company was an abuse of process
Gleeson vs Tazbell Services Group [2015]IEHC 394 (High Court, Cregan J, May 18th, 2015) High Court dismisses a petition to wind up a company where it was claimed the company owed the petitioner about €125,000 and had misused the petitioner's name – the subject of an alleged trademark – on the grounds that there was no bona fide debt, there was no trademark registered, and the bringing of the petition was an abuse of process.
– Shane Kiely BL
Damages awarded for depression caused by shock of hearing of son's death in road traffic accident Purcell vs Long [2015]IEHC 385 (High Court, Barr J, May 15th, 2015) High Court awards €225,150 to a mother who suffered severe depression triggered by an acute stress reaction upon hearing of her son's death in a road traffic accident, where she had suffered previous psychiatric illness and depression.
– Shane Kiely BL
Investor could not establish reliance on alleged mis-statements in bank's brochure
Spencer vs Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Ltd [2015]IEHC 395 (High Court, Costello J, June 19th, 2015) High Court dismisses claims against bank for alleged oral and written mis-statements and misrepresentations regarding property-related and other investments, finding that the plaintiff had failed to show that he relied on the statements prior to investing or that his losses in respect of a life assurance bond actually flowed from the loan agreement he had entered into.
– Ian Fitzharris BL
Third party notice was not issued as soon as reasonably possible
Clúid Housing Association vs O'Brien [2015]IEHC 398 (High Court, Murphy J, June 30th, 2015) High Court, in a claim for professional negligence arising from a housing project, sets aside a third party notice issued against a specialist manufacturer of timber-frame buildings by the consultant engineers, on the grounds that it had not been issued as soon as reasonably possible.
– James Cross BL
Refusal of access for experts to forensic evidence gathered in murder and rape investigation
McDonagh vs Commissioner of An Garda Síochána [2015]IEHC 390 (High Court, McDermott J, June 19th 2015) High Court refuses to order gardaí to allow appropriately qualified experts access to forensic evidence gathered during a murder and rape investigation, finding that the applicant, who had been convicted of the offences in 2001, had not established any basis upon which to claim any relief and that the Court of Appeal had ample jurisdiction to consider whether it was necessary for the purpose of doing justice to direct that items procured in the course of an investigation or relied upon in evidence be subjected to a newly developed scientific test.
– Ciarán Joyce BL
The full text of the above judgments is available on courts.ie. These reports were written and compiled by Stare Decisis Hibernia:StareDecisisHibernia.com