Courts News Ireland wishes you a Happy Easter.

Full coverage resumes when the Higher Courts return for Easter sittings, beginning on April 29th.

The managing partner of a London-based private equity firm has launched High Court proceedings over a Twitter account he claims is being used to smear his reputation.

The action has been taken by Mr Philip Rattle, of August Equity LLP, who claims both he and his family have been upset by posts on a Twitter account set up in his name, which he has nothing to do with.

Mr Rattle doe not have a Twitter account, nor does he have an online presence. The tweets, he claims, are deliberately targeted towards maligning him and causing serious damage to his reputation. ….read more

(Pictured: Witness Mr Gordon Elliott, who gave evidence today. Credit: Collins)

Grand National winning horse trainer Gordon Elliott has told the High Court that he never spoke to the majority owner of a horse that the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) claim was purchased using the proceeds of crime.

CAB alleges that John Boylan (32), aka John Power, of Forest Hill, Rathcoole, Co Dublin, is involved in drug dealing in the Clondalkin area. He disputes the bureau’s claim that he purchased 90 per cent of the horse, named Labaik, through the proceeds of crime.

Mr Boylan has brought his own proceedings against CAB ….read more

A High Court judge has warned persons involved in litigation of the consequences of taking bad advice form non-legally qualified persons.

Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds made the remarks when making orders in granting a fund-appointed receiver possession of a commercial property located at Six Cross Roads in Co Waterford.

The judge said that parties in the case had no lawyers representing them, had been badly advised by persons with no legal qualifications and would ultimately have to bear the large legal costs of any failed applications.

The action was brought against Mr Paddy Early, of Killea, Dunmore East, Co Waterford ….read more

Galway City Council and one of its elected councillors have unreservedly apologised to two Galway brothers who claimed they were defamed in comments made in the wake of the cancellation of the 2011 Galway City Marathon.

The apology was to athletes Paul and Richard Donovan who sued both the Council and Fianna Fail Councillor Michael J Crowe for defamation arising out of several publications and statements made by the defendants.

The actions were taking over the remarks concerning the brother’s role as organisers of the Galway City Marathon.

The brothers claimed they were defamed in early August 2011, when the defendants issued ….read more

(Pictured: Mr David Hall. Credit: Collins)

The CEO of Irish Mortgage Holder’s Association David Hall will be contesting claims made by Revenue in a High Court application seeking freezing orders against an animal welfare charity.

Last week Revenue, in a bid to get payment of a Revenue debt, secured temporary High Court orders restraining the Animal Heaven Animal Rescue charity reducing its assets below €191,000 or transferring its lands to another charity.

The orders, obtained on an ex-parte basis, were made against the trustees of the charity. Mr Hall was among four persons appointed in 2018 to the board of the ….read more

(Pictured: Mr Edward McDonagh. Credit: Collins)

The owner of a thoroughbred horse has sued Galway County Council over what he claims was the local authority’s wrongful seizure and subsequent slaughter of the animal.

The action has been taken by Mr Edward McDonagh, of Bothar an Coiste, Headford Road, Galway in respect of a stallion he owned called ‘Chief of Colours’, which was seized by the local authority in February 2018.

In what are judicial review proceedings, Mr McDonagh seeks various orders and declarations against Galway County Council.

These include declarations that the council acted outside of its powers when it refused his request to ….read more

A High Court challenge has been brought over a decision by a three-person committee set up by the Department of Education to uphold the expulsion of a secondary school student for bringing a knife to school.

In proceedings brought through his mother, the boy claims the decision is flawed on grounds including that a member of the committee was a past pupil of the school he was expelled from.

The parties cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The second-year student was expelled from the secondary school he attended, located in the south of the country, late last year.

The teen ….read more

A man accused of raping and sexually assaulting two of his younger siblings over 20 years ago has brought a High Court action aimed at halting his prosecution.

The man, who is aged in his late thirties, claims he cannot get a fair trial in respect of events that are alleged to have occurred in the late 1990s when he was aged between 13 and 15 years of age.

The complainants are his sister and brother, who made statements concerning the allegations against their brother to the Gardai in 2017. The DPP initially declined to prosecute the man for the ….read more

A man who has spent 31 years in prison for a murder he committed when he was a child does not pose a risk to society and should not be extradited to the UK, his barrister has told the High Court.

Roy Norman Kenyon absconded to Ireland in 2003 while serving his sentence for the murder of Margaret Potts, an elderly shopkeeper, whom he beat to death with a poker in 1971. Having lived in Ireland under an alias for the past 15 years, the 64-year-old is now facing the prospect of returning to the UK to continue serving the ….read more