A three-year-old girl suffered nightmares after gardaí had attempted to enter her home by force at night, a judge was told yesterday.

Ruby Whearity was upstairs with her mother when gardaí had been let into her home by her father in January last year, only for them to find they were in the wrong house.

Barrister Bebhin Sparks told the Circuit Civil Court that a garda had gone upstairs and there were others in the house and garden, before they realised they had attempted to enter the “incorrect address.”

She told Mr Justice Matthew Deery that liability with regard to the error was not an issue and while Ruby, whose home is in Chapel Close, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, had been extremely distressed by the incident, her anxieties had resolved within a matter of months.

Ms Sparks said Ruby, who is now aged four, had … Read More »

A mistaken accusation of theft against a group of six “browsing” schoolgirls has cost a Dublin shop €70,000 in damages and legal costs for slander and false imprisonment.

Circuit Court president Mr Justice Matthew Deery yesterday approved a €7,500 settlement offer by Claire’s Accessories UK Ltd to mother-of-one Jacqueline O’Reilly (17).

Barrister David Conlan Smyth told the Circuit Civil Court it was the sixth case he had settled in relation to a single incident in the company’s store at the Ilac Centre, Dublin, in October 2008. He said the cases against Claire’s Accessories UK had been settled for €7,500 each, with costs. Legal costs for such cases in the Circuit Civil Court average between €4,000 and €5,000.

Mr Conlan Smyth said Ms O’Reilly, St Theresa’s Gardens, Donore Avenue, Dublin, had been browsing in the shop, which specialises in jewellery and accessories, with five … Read More »

A boy, who suffered an injury to his lip in a creche when he was three years old has been awarded €17,700 damages in the Circuit Civil Court in respect of a Personal Injury Claim.

Bernard Rogan, counsel for Luke Hyland, Russell View, Tallaght, now aged seven, said the boy had run into the back of a chair on December 19th, 2008.

The judge heard that Mr Rogan, at an earlier hearing, had convinced the court not to approve a lower assessment of the injuries board.

Mr Rogan said he had since negotiated an improved offer of €17,700 together with full legal costs and a further €1,137 towards fees and expenses.

The boy had made a full recovery apart from a mildly noticeable permanent mark on his lip.