O'Beirne v Bank of Ireland Mortgage Bank

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Court: High Court
• Judge: Mr. Justice Twomey
• Judgment Date: 28 June 2016
• Neutral Citation: [2016] IEHC 364
• Docket Number: [2015 No. 8951P]
• Date: 28 June 2016

[2016] IEHC 364

THE HIGH COURT

Twomey J.

[2015 No. 8951P]

BETWEEN:

CAÍT O'BEIRNE

PLAINTIFF

-AND-

BANK OF IRELAND MORTGAGE BANK

FIONA CASSIDY

AND

SEÁN HUGHES

DEFENDANTS

Practice & Procedures – Damages for defamation – Frivolous or vexatious proceedings – Matter of appeal – Striking off the proceedings

Facts: Following the proceedings instituted by the plaintiff against the defendants for defamation, the first named defendant, by way of the present application, sought an order to dismiss the said High Court proceedings on the ground that the proceedings were frivolous or vexatious. The plaintiff claimed defamation and damages on ground of mistake committed in the affidavits filed by the second and third named defendants. The plaintiff averred that the first named defendant should not have instituted possession proceedings against the plaintiff and the plaintiff sought damages for the alleged abuse of process. The plaintiff further claimed damages against the first named defendant for the loss of her property, which was a subject matter of the Circuit Court proceedings.

Mr. Justice Twomey struck out the proceedings issued by the plaintiff against the defendants on the ground that the proceedings were misconceived and bound to fail. The Court held that the plaintiff could not claim defamation and damages for a mistake committed in the affidavits, which had been corrected after reading out in the Circuit Court. The Court found that as the Circuit Court had granted the order of possession sought by the defendants, the Court could not reverse the said order as that was a matter for appeal, which had been lodged. The Court held that the plaintiff could not seek damages in higher court for the decision of the lower court as the correct procedure had been to appeal the decision of the lower court, which had been done in the present case.

JUDGMENT of Mr. Justice Twomey delivered on 28th day of June 2016.

1 This is an application by the first named defendant, Bank of Ireland Mortgage Bank, to dismiss, as an abuse of process or as frivolous or vexatious or as bound to fail, the High Court proceedings issued by the plaintiff, Ms. O'Beirne. Ms. O'Beirne's proceedings seek damages for, inter alia, defamation against the Bank and two of its employees, the second and third named defendants.

2 The claim for defamation arises out of an action for possession of a property at 16 Brindle Hill, Charleville, County Cork in the Circuit Court against Ms. O'Beirne and her husband, Mr. Brian Coleman, as they were registered owners of that property. The property was charged in favour of the Bank in respect of a loan extended to Mr. Coleman only. It is relevant to note that the Circuit Court proceedings about which Ms. O'Beirne complains were not proceedings for judgment in relation to the debt owed by Mr. Coleman to the Bank, but rather an action for possession of the charged property.

3 Mr. Coleman is not a party to these defamation proceedings against the Bank. Nonetheless, a considerable portion of the submissions made by Ms. O'Beirne was in relation to complaints about the manner in which the Bank dealt with the bank loan to which she is not a party. Matters raised in this regard include, inter alia, the alleged failure to pay the taxation at source, incorrect calculation of the amount due, incorrect application of interest rates etc.

4 All of these may be valid grievances, but they have no relevance to Ms. O'Beirne's proceedings against the Bank for defamation. Mr. Coleman is not a party to these proceeding, so these are not the appropriate proceedings in which to complain about a loan to him. As Ms. O'Beirne is a lay litigant, it is perhaps understandable that she would wish to air these grievances in these defamation proceedings. However, these grievances are relevant only to the Circuit Court proceedings between Mr. Coleman and the Bank (to which Ms. O'Beirne is also a party). Accordingly, this Court has no role whatsoever in deciding on these grievances. If Mr. Coleman and Ms. O'Beirne wish to pursue these grievances, they can do so by appealing the decision of the...