A HIGH Court judge has directed that transcripts of an action in which the court found a plumber gave false evidence in his claim for loss of earnings should be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions “for his information”.
Mr Justice John Quirke said he was making no recommendation about what the DPP should do in the case of Leo McKenna following the judge’s inquiry into the allegations of false evidence, but he had “no option” other than to say the transcripts should be sent to the DPP.
Mr McKenna (43), Tullyhall Drive, Lucan, Dublin, had denied his evidence was false. He had claimed he could not work for almost 9½ years because of an injury to his knee after he allegedly fell from a ladder on a building site in September 2001.
He sued his employer Paddy Dormer, trading as Paddy Dormer Services, Churchtown, Dublin, for damages as well as loss of earnings for most of that period.
The court heard earlier this month Mr McKenna had been working for Mr Dormer for almost all of that period, having insisted shortly after the accident he should be paid in cash as of then. As his case was about to begin on February 24th, Mr McKenna approached Mr Dormer in the Four Courts and told him to say “you have not seen me for the last 9½ years”, when he had been working for the Dormer firm almost continuously in that period, the court heard.
Mr Justice Quirke had earlier refused to allow Mr McKenna to abandon his compensation claim after his counsel said Mr McKenna was offering to pay the costs of both sides. The judge said he wanted to proceed with the inquiry into whether Mr McKenna gave false evidence.
Mr McKenna initially gave evidence to the court he had worked “bits and pieces” and at odd jobs in the 9½ years for which he claimed loss of earnings, the judge said.
When his credibility was seriously challenged under cross-examination, he sought to confine the claim of earnings to the six months after the accident.
Mr McKenna, with a new legal team, yesterday tried to abandon the case, but the judge said it should only be dismissed on the basis that no negligence was established or false evidence was given.
The judge heard evidence from Paddy Dormer, his son Martin, and one of their workers, who all testified they had heard Mr McKenna say to Mr Dormer that he should say he had not “seen him for the last 9½ years”.
Paddy Dormer said his reaction to this was that Mr McKenna “must have been joking”, and the first he knew of the loss of earnings claim was shortly before the court case was due to begin.
Roger Leonard, a vocational assessor who assessed Mr McKenna’s working life on February 17th, told the court that Mr McKenna had told him he was reluctant to go ahead with the case but had to, as otherwise he would have to pay €4,500 to his solicitor.
Mr Justice Quirke dismissed the claim and awarded costs against Mr McKenna. He accepted, as a matter of probability, that he had given evidence he knew to be false and misleading and which was materially important to this case.