Financial fund claims Tipperary man has breached court order to leave property
A financial fund has asked the High Court for orders that could result in the imprisonment of a man it alleges has breached an injunction requiring him to vacate a house in Co Tipperary.
Mars Capital Finance Ireland DAC claims that in late July it secured an injunction requiring Owen Ryan to vacate, cease trespassing at, and hand over possession of a property located at Moat Quarter, Kilfeakle, Co Tipperary, to the plaintiff fund.
The order, which applies to anyone who has knowledge of the injunction, also prevents the defendant from interfering with, impeding or obstructing the fund and its agents from taking possession of the property, which Mr Ryan owns.
Represented by Keith Rooney Bl, Mars claims that it secured the property on foot of an order for possession it secured from the courts arising out of a failure to repay loans for which the property was put up as security.
It claims that Mr Ryan subsequently re-entered the property and has unlawfully re-taken possession. He has no right to occupy the property, Mars claims.
Mars launched High Court proceedings against Mr Ryan, and in July secured an injunction requiring Mr Ryan to hand over possession and cease trespassing at the property.
Counsel said Mr Ryan was given until August 5, 2024, to vacate the property, which consists of a two-storey house in a rural location. However, he has failed to do so, counsel said, adding that his client is currently unable to access the property.
An inspection by security personnel engaged by Mars revealed that an exterior gate had been padlocked in a way that makes the lock difficult to remove. Three cars were parked in the property in a manner that blocks access from the outside, the court also heard.
Counsel said that, in addition, solicitors acting for his client had received an email from Mr Ryan.
In the email, counsel said that Mr Ryan purported to have “cancelled” the High Court order directing him to vacate the property, on grounds including that it amounted to “treason, slavery, collusion, theft, and wilful deception”.
Counsel said that based on that communication it appeared that Mr Ryan was not giving the injunction “the level of seriousness it deserves” and has “embarked on a particular path of resistance”.
As a result, counsel said Mars had “no choice” other than to bring the motion requiring Mr Ryan to come before the court to answer his alleged contempt.
The matter came before Mrs Justice Carmel Stewart during Thursday’s vacation sitting of the High Court. The judge, on an ex-parte basis, granted the fund permission to bring its motion seeking Mr Ryan’s attachment and possible committal to prison for alleged contempt.
The motion was adjourned to a date in early September.
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