A company which had been restrained by the High Court from operating a public bar in the basement of the same building as the Fitzwilliam Hotel, St Stephens Green, Dublin, yesterday lost its Supreme Court appeal against the High Court finding.
Cherating Ltd took over the restaurant premises formally occupied by Planet Hollywood (which operated between 1997 and 1999).
The company, in its submissions to the Supreme Court, claimed that the High Court in making its finding did not have proper regard to a sworn statement of the former bar/restaurant manager who had been a "bar server" when the premises had been Planet Hollywood. The manager had referred to a "sports bar" showing sporting events to customers and diners, and therefore there was clearly a public bar.
Giving the decision of the Supreme Court, Mr Justice Geoghegan said he could not agree that the evidence of the manager had any legal significance. The points made by Cherating had been effectively answered in the submissions of the hotel on the appeal.
Those submissions correctly pointed out it was accepted that the premises were operated as one unit with a licensed restaurant business, and nowhere was it suggested by the manager that the premises were operated as a bar open to members of the public.
As was pointed out in the hotel submissions it seemed quite clear that the only bars on the premises were dispense bars which were clearly compatible with the operation of a special restaurant licence. There was nothing in the manager's affidavit which undermined the High Court finding to the effect that the only use to which the premises were put was as a licensed restaurant, and that was altogether different from an ordinary publican's use.
The High Court found that although a planning permission had authorised the use of the basement as a restaurant and/or bar - the latter use, in the view of the High Court to include trading under an ordinary seven-day publican's licence - the only trading which had been carried on during the five-year period of the permission was a restaurant with a restaurant licence attached.
The order sought by the hotel had been to restrain Cherating from operating a public bar in the basement without a further grant of planning permission.
Mr Justice Geoghegan said a new permission was now needed and in its absence the hotel was entitled to the order which it obtained from the High Court.