Cormacruisers v Tipperary County Council
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judge | Mr. Justice Doyle |
| Judgment Date | 07 June 1984 |
| Neutral Citation | 1983 WJSC-HC 1842 |
| Judgment citation (vLex) | [1984] 6 JIC 0702 |
| Court | High Court |
| Date | 07 June 1984 |
1983 WJSC-HC 1842
HIGH COURT ON CIRCUIT COUNTY TIPPERARY NORTH RIDING AT NENAGH
BETWEEN:
and
Judgment of Mr. Justice Doyle delivered the 7th day of June 1984.
This is a claim for damages for malicious injury to the applicants” property at Cullenagh, County Tipperary, where it is claimed that a yacht marina incorporating a workshop and offices together with stock, machinery and office equipment and also two cruising craft which had been brought there for the purpose of carrying out certain repairs were maliciously damaged by fire on Sunday night the 22nd day of November, 1981.
Mr. James Scouler, the first witness, deposed that he was a joint owner with his brother of the shares in the applicant companies. The premises were first observed to be on fire apparently at about 10.30 p.m. on Sunday night the 22nd November, 1981. Mr. Scouler first learned that his premises were on fire after his wife had been informed of the fact and he arrived on the scene about 2. 15 or 2.30 a.m. on the following morning. In the course of cross-examination by Mr. Kennedy of Counsel for the respondents Mr. Scouler stated that when he arrived at the scene of the fire he was not allowed to enter the premises as* the Guards were present investigating the matter and "I think the fire brigade was still doing what they could to extinguish the blaze." In the course of his direct evidence Mr. Scouler had stated that when they acquired the premises he and his brother changed all the locks which he stated he believed to be a standard business practice. Their staff included a safety officer, a Mr. Amundsen, who was also a member of the local fire brigade. He and his brother had cut down on staff and dispensed with the services of one or more employees who had been working for the previous owners of the yacht marina and boat repair premises. Mr. Scouler further stated that the insurers for himself and his brother had caused the premises to be inspected when they went into occupation and that no difficulties arose and no requirements were mentioned by the insurance company's agent. The next witness was Dr. Caroline Maguire who holds a degree in Environmental Science. She carried out an examination of the marina at Cullenagh. She carries on practice with her husband as fire assessors. Dr. Maguire produced an album of coloured photographs taken in the premises after the fire. She drew particular attention to photograph No. 10 which shows amongst other debris portion of the cut end of a pipe which she learned, she said, from an investigating guard had been found to be dripping diesel oil after the fire. She stated her view that the temperature in a fire of the magnitude of that which she had been called upon to examine could rise to seven hundred degrees centigrade and in those circumstances diesel oil if spread would burn quite readily. There were produced to her two sections of copper piping described as complex joints and she stated that she was satisfied that these had not been broken by falling debris or bending back and forth. She thought the fire appeared to have been started in a corner underneath certain racks which were used for storing sail cloth or tarpaulin. Both she stated were flammable material. She thought that there might be another place of origin of the fire close to a toilet at the left rear of the building but did not exclude the possibility that the fire may have been seated in this second location by spreading from the first one which she mentioned namely the racks of sail cloth. She had first visited the scene on the 25th November, 1981 the day after the Guards had carried out an investigation and had had in the process to disturb some of the debris. She re-visited the scene on the 26th July, 1983 after the hearing in the Circuit Court on the 26th June of that year. On that occasion certain articles and a portion of the burnt building had been removed by her partner and husband Dr. McDaeid.
Dr. Maguire further stated that part of the roof had had a transparent section which was composed of glass reinforced by polythene and the two boats which had been damaged in the fire had fibreglass hulls but probably of a different type to the polythene reinforcement in the roof. It had been suggested and was part of the applicants” case that entry might have been made through the roof and that exit from the premises after the arson had been committed would have been simple since there were yale type locks which could be opened by turning a knob and locked by pulling the door after the person making his exit. Dr. Maguire was disposed to exclude the possibility of the fire having been caused by an electrical fault. She did see some wire she said in cross-examination by Mr. Kennedy which had been shown to her by Detective Guard Quinn and which exhibited signs that there had been what he described as "arcing." The Detective had told her that this was the only evidence which he could find of an electrical fault causing the fire or being involved in the origin of the fire. Dr. Maguire had earlier stated her opinion that the pipe which apparently had dripped the diesel oil and which was shown in her photograph No. 10 had been cut and not damaged by falling debris as had been suggested to her. The next witness was Mr. Michael Norton, a forensic scientist attached to the Forensic Science Laboratory at the Garda Headquarters in Phoenix Park. He stated that on the 27th November, 1981 he had received from Detective Garda S. Quinn, one of the investigating Gardai, a sealed container with a sample of liquid labelled "F.S.1296/81 found beside seat of fire at Cormacruisers, Ballina, Killaloe on the 24/11/1981 S.Q." He stated that he had examined this sample and that the liquid consisted of two layers, a very thin oily layer and another lighter layer. The sample had an odour of creosote or disinfectant and was not flammable. A portion of the sample which he extracted was found to contain a mixture of hydrocarbon solvents and a further portion of the sample when evaporated down was found to leave a solid residue which was not chemically identified. Mr. Norton's evidence yielded no positive assistance and he was not cross-examined. This concluded the evidence at a quarter past five on the first day of the trial and the case was resumed on the following morning, Tuesday the 18th October when the first witness was Mr. Kevin O'Farrell. He had been General Manager of the yacht marina since 1970. His services were retained when the premises were taken over by the Scouler Bros, in 1981. Mr. O'Farrell gave a general description of the lay-out of the premises with particular reference to the plan, prepared by Messrs Michael Punch and Partners, of the marina. He stated that the partition shown between the areas labelled B and C was really composed of pillars and was not a solid wall. The store in fact ran through the areas B and C and his, Mr. O'Farrell's office, was over the store. The timber racks which had been described ran the full length of the rear wall of the store and the lowest of them was from ten inches to fifteen inches above the floor. The fuse box was independent of the racks and was at the rear wall.
Prom 1978 to 1980 Mr. Robinson was the Sales Manager and he was succeeded by a Mr. Casey who remained in the firm until 1981. There were occasional power failures in the Killaloe area and there were two heating systems in the premises. The necessary welding work was done in a workshop on the opposite wall to the canteen. There were two tanks for diesel fuel, one capable of containing 12,000 gallons and a smaller one of a domestic size with a capacity of 300 gallons. At the time of the fire two cabin cruisers twenty three feet long and diesel engined were in for overhaul. They were of glass fibre construction and were enclosed except for the cockpit. There were canopies over the cockpits rather like the soft top that one sees in motor cars. The firm was very busy in November overhauling; this work was looked after by Mr. Amundsen. Mr. O'Farrell said that he lived up river from the marina. On the night of the fire he was in a hotel. "I left the hotel at 11.20 and drove to my office, a few minutes drive. I saw nothing and I went home to bed." This was in the course of a routine visit by Mr. O'Farrell. At 11.40 he was wakened by the fire siren. "I thought it was the hotel which was on fire and I drove in that direction and found that it was the marina. My primary concern was the gas stove and the petrol. I parked at the back of the marina and walked to the front past Section A colour green on the plan. The door into the workshop was locked. When the doors were opened by the fire brigade I went in and found the two boats were burning from their sterns forward; the fires in the boats were internal. I stood on a trailer and tried to put the fire out with an extinguisher. The stores at the back of area B were burning over the whole width of this part of the building. Cross-examined by Mr. Kennedy Mr. O'Farrell stated that he gave a statement to the Gardai on the 21st December, 1981 in the course of which he stated
"When I arrived the complete workshop area was ablaze and the two cabin cruisers were on fire."
I did go into the offices to try to remove some articles after I had been to the store. The cushions in the store were of plastic foam and were readily combustible. I don't agree that the premises had got into bad repair. I wasn't aware of an alteration in the pipeline. It was in a...
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