Euro Foods (Ireland) Ltd v Meath County Council
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judge | Mr. Justice Keane |
| Judgment Date | 31 October 1985 |
| Neutral Citation | 1986 WJSC-HC 645 |
| Court | High Court |
| Date | 31 October 1985 |
1986 WJSC-HC 645
THE HIGH COURT
ON CIRCUIT
NORTHERN CIRCUIT
COUNTY OF MEATH
BETWEEN:
AND
Citations:
ARTIFICIAL COAL CO & HAMON V MIN FINANCE 1928 IR 238
CAVENDISH WOODHOUSE (HOLDINGS) LTD V DUBLIN CORPORATION 1974 IR 171
CRIMINAL INJURIES ACT (NI) 1956 S4(3)
HARVEY V OCEAN ACCIDENT & GUARANTEE CORPO 1905 2 IR 126
HIRE PURCHASE FURNISHING CO LTD V RICHENS 20 QBD 387
MALICIOUS INJURIES ACT 1981 S12(3)(a)
MALICIOUS INJURIES ACT 1981 S12(3)
THURTELL V BEAUMONT 1 BING 339
WILLIAMS V EAST INDIA CO 1802 3 EASTS 192
Synopsis:
MALICIOUS INJURIES
Damage
Cause - Fire - Connivance of applicant - Evidence - Onus of proof - Balance of probabilities - Inference from facts - Applicant's hotel damaged by fire - Applicant in financial difficulties - Premises insured by applicant's creditor - Applicant absent at time of fire - No personal effects found in applicant's bedroom in hotel - Furnishings of hotel found in other property of applicant - Connivance of applicant proved to satisfaction of the court - Dismissal of application for compensation affirmed - Malicious Injuries Act, 1981, s.12(3) - (Ct. App. - Keane J. - 31/10/85)
|Euro Foods (Ir.) Ltd. v. Meath C.C.|
EVIDENCE
Onus of proof
Balance of probabilities - Malicious injuries - Application for compensation - Fire damage - Respondent alleging connivance of applicant in starting fire - Inference from facts - Connivance established to satisfaction of court on balance of probabilities - Application dismissed - Malicious Injuries Act, 1981, s.12(3) - (Ct. App. - Keane J. - 31/10/85)
|Euro Foods (Ir.) Ltd. v. Meath C.C.|
The Applicant Company, of which Mr. Vincent Tynan is the principal shareholder, bought a hotel called the Mill House at Dunleek as a going concern in August 1982 for the sum of £185,000. The hotel was extensively damaged by a fire which was deliberately started on the 29th September 1984. An application for compensation in respect of the damage thus caused was resisted by the respondents on the ground that Mr. Tynan was responsible for the fire himself. The application was dismissed by the learned Circuit Court Judge and from that decision this appeal is now brought.
The evidence established that, during the early part of 1984, the acquisition of this premises had proved a financial disaster for Mr. Tynan. The hotel business as such had been discontinued, most of the staff had been let go and the only activity being carried on was the bar trade and occasional functions. The applicants were indebted to Allied Irish Finance Limited in the sum of approximately £240,000. Sometime prior to the fire, Mr. Tynan had decided to sell the premises and had instructed a firm of auctioneers accordingly. The auction was due to take place on October 3rd, i.e. a few days after the fire actually occurred.
Mr. Tynan, was also the owner of a licensed premises in Dublin called "The Judge and Jury". The business in this premises was also in poor shape in the summer of 1984, to the extent that the E.S.B. had cut off the electricity supply for non-payment and the premises were being serviced by a generator.
At the time of the fire, Mr. and Mrs. Tynan were the owners of a bungalow in the vicinity of the Mill House Hotel. Up to the night of the fire, however, Mrs. Tynan had been sleeping in the hotel premises. On that night, Mr. Tynan drove her and her brother to Dublin where they had a meal in the Gresham Hotel. They later attended a party being given at another hotel to celebrate the engagement of their son. They both said in evidence that they returned at about 2 a.m. to find that the hotel had been seriously damaged by fire. Both also said that it had been their intention to spend that night in the hotel and not in the bungalow.
The barman in the hotel, one Michael Robinson, also went to Dublin on the night of the fire. Mr. and Mrs. Tynan both said in evidence that when they came back to the hotel in the early hours of the morning to find it damaged by fire, he was present at the scene. There was no other member of the staff residing in the hotel at the time. When the fire brigade arrived to fight the fire, they found the front door locked and there were no signs of a break-in. Mr. and Mrs. Tynan both said in evidence, however, that there was a window at the rear of the premises which it was possible to open. It was obvious that the fire had been started at more than one point and that an accelerant of some sort, probably petrol, had been used.
Mr. Tynan said that the reason the barman had gone to Dublin that night was to help out in “The Judge and Jury.” He said that it was intended that he should then come on to the engagement party. In the event, however, he had not gone to the engagement party. The barman did not give evidence in the Circuit Court or on this hearing. Mr. Tynan denied that he (Mr. Tynan) had anything to do with the burning of the hotel.
The hotel bedroom which Mr. and Mrs. Tynan said they...
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