A round-up of today's other courts news in brief
€1.275m for bus shelter injuries
A woman who suffered “horrendous” injuries and spent several weeks in a hospital intensive care unit after a bus shelter in Dublin city centre collapsed on her has secured €1.275 million in damages at the High Court.
Margaret Fee (56), a retired tax inspector, Belgrave View, Rathmines, Dublin, sued Dublin City Council and Clear Channel Ireland Limited, outdoor advertising specialists in billboards and bus shelters, over injuries received when a shelter at Lower Mount Street fell on top of her on the evening of June 9th, 2003.
At the outset of the case, the judge was told damages had been agreed at €1.275 million between the two defendants, but the issue of liability for that sum had to be determined.
Yesterday, Mr Justice Vivian Lavan was told the issues between the defendants had been settled and the matter could be struck out. Full details were not revealed.
Consent granted for extradition
A Limerick man being sought by the British authorities in connection with an alleged attempt to traffic illegal drugs worth more than £1 million (€1.08 million) has consented before the High Court to his extradition to the UK.
Keith Gerard McKenna (37), Dooradoyle Park, yesterday told Mr Justice Michael Peart he was consenting to an order for his surrender to the UK.
Ronan Kennedy, for the State, said the UK authorities were seeking the extradition of Mr McKenna on charges including that he absconded two days into his trial at Canterbury Crown Court in August 2006 on charges of importing 380kg of cannabis, said to be worth £1.14 million, in May 2005. Mr McKenna had denied knowledge of the drugs.
Mr Justice Peart, on hearing Mr McKenna had received legal advice, said he was satisfied to make an order for his surrender to the UK which would take place “as soon as possible”. Mr McKenna had been in custody at Cloverhill Prison since last week when he was arrested.
Former teacher in sex assault case
A former teacher allegedly sexually assaulted a boy in class while telling other pupils to read, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.
The 63-year-old Dublin man is alleged to have touched the then 10-year-old boy’s genitals twice around 40 years ago when he was his teacher. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecent assault at a north Dublin school between July 1st, 1969 and June 30th, 1970. The case continues.
Jury returns for murder trial
The trial of a homeless man accused of murdering a Dublin pensioner will resume before a jury today, after the jurors were sent home again yesterday for a third day of legal argument.
Stephen Byrne (36) has pleaded not guilty to killing 70-year-old William Traynor in his house on St Francis Terrace, Bow Street on June 17th, 2007.
The trial before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury is in its second week.
Three-year sentence for burglary
A Tallaght man who burgled the home of a man he saved from drowning in a canal has been jailed for three years.
Kenneth Nevin (27), Kilcarrig Green, broke into Raymond McMahon’s home on nearby Kilcarrig Avenue and demanded €60 he claimed the family owed him for a Mater hospital bill when they found him there with a screwdriver up his sleeve.
Nevin pleaded guilty to burglary at the house on July 15th, 2007 and told gardaí he believed he was owed €60 for “pulling the Da out of the canal”. Det Garda Gary Corrigan confirmed Nevin had saved Mr McMahon’s life and that both men were taken to the Mater for treatment, over which Nevin claimed he was billed for €60.