University College Cork v Electricity Supply Board
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judgment Date | 17 October 2018 |
| Neutral Citation | [2018] IESCDET 140 |
| Court | Supreme Court |
| Date | 17 October 2018 |
[2018] IESCDET 140
O'Donnell J.
Dunne J.
Finlay Geoghegan J.
THE SUPREME COURT
DETERMINATION
RESULT: The Court grants leave to UCC to appeal to this Court from the decision of the Court of Appeal, and accordingly also grants leave to the ESB to appeal.
| COURT: Court of Appeal |
| DATE OF JUDGMENT OR RULING: 20 th March, 2018 |
| DATE OF ORDER: 21 st March, 2018 |
| DATE OF PERFECTION OF ORDER: 17 th April, 2018 |
| THE APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL MADE ON 15 th May, 2018 WAS IN TIME. THE APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL MADE ON 29 th May, 2018 WAS NOT IN TIME. |
The facts appear sufficiently from an extensive judgment of the High Court and subsequent judgment of the Court of Appeal, the respective applications for leave and the respondent's notices, all of which are publicly available.
The first applicant is the plaintiff (UCC) who sued the defendant (ESB) in respect of damage suffered as a result of flooding which occurred on the night of the 19 th and 20 th of November 2009. The ESB operates a hydro electric generating system on the River Lee. As a result of heavy rain in November, and particularly on the night in question, the ESB released more than 500 m3/s which was greatly in excess of the capacity of the river banks downstream.
After a trial of 104 days, the High Court delivered a lengthy judgment finding that the ESB had been negligent, but holding also that the plaintiff was 40% contributorily negligent. The Court of Appeal reversed the decision of the High Court as to ESB's liability, and also held that had it upheld the decision of the High Court on liability, it would have also set aside the finding of contributory negligence. The plaintiff (UCC) now seeks leave to appeal to this Court. The defendant resists that application but has also lodged its own application to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal on contributory negligence. This latter application is expressed to be contingent and only to be operative in the event that leave is granted to UCC to pursue its appeal.
The damage suffered by UCC as a result of the flooding was itself extensive, but is only one of almost 400 proceedings commenced against the...
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University College Cork v Electricity Supply Board (1)
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