A WOMAN jailed on Monday for contempt of court was released by the High Court yesterday.
Ms Teresa Grogan, Oaklands Park, Swords, Co Dublin, was sent to Mountjoy Prison on Monday after an order by Judge Cyril Kelly in the Circuit Civil Court on September 25th.
Yesterday, she applied for her release in the High Court. Mr Justice Peter Kelly said in his judgment he was not concerned with the merits of the dispute between Ms Grogan and Mr Denis Drum, an auctioneer from Malahide.
The judge said there was a good deal to suggest that Ms Grogan had behaved in a manner that merited criticism.
In the warrant it had stated that she failed to obey an order of August 29th directing her to pay £3,009 to Mr Drum after a settlement between the parties.
The original order for payment was made by Judge White in the Circuit Civil Court. The proceedings were settled in its entirety terms of consent. The sum was in settlement of auctioneers' fees.
Mr Justice Kelly said that parties were entitled to settle their differences and even if the settlement was received by a court, it still constituted a contract and if that was not complied with, new proceedings could be taken.
However, some settlements were made a rule of court and that elevated it from a contract to a court order. When the agreed settlement was a court order, the parties must know with certainty what the obligations were to be undertaken by them.
There was nothing in the order of Judge White by way of an obligation imposed on Ms Grogan. Mr Justice Kelly said he failed to understand why the settlement was elevated to a rule of court.
As the order contained no obligation on her, it was impossible to see how she could be in contempt of court.