The High Court has refused Darren Farrelly extra time to appeal a possession order concerning a Dublin house owned by the late Laurence Winters.
The Circuit Court had ordered on March 12, 2009 that Marie Winters recover possession of the property and €12,600 from Farrelly. His counterclaim was dismissed. He had claimed, among other things, that Winters’ title had been extinguished, that he had acquired ownership or that she held the property in trust for him.
Farrelly said he had lived in the house since 1993 after being invited there by Laurence Winters, a close friend of his father whom he knew as “Uncle Larry”. He paid no rent but claimed he provided companionship and services and paid for improvements. He also said it had been Winters’ intention that he and his partner eventually own the house.
By the time of the High Court application, the proposed appeal had narrowed to a claim based on trust or estoppel. Farrelly sought an extension because the normal appeal period had expired.
Mr Justice Michael Peart accepted that Farrelly probably formed an intention to appeal when the Circuit Court case ended. However, he rejected the explanation that difficulties locating Farrelly’s former solicitor caused the delay. The judge found it more likely that the deadline was overlooked or not appreciated.
More importantly, the court found no clearly identifiable arguable ground of appeal. The affidavits largely repeated the case already heard in the Circuit Court and did not identify a legal or factual issue capable of changing the result.
Peart J. also found significant prejudice to Winters. As administratrix of her husband’s estate, she had been trying to recover and sell the house since 2007. Continued occupation had delayed administration of the estate while the property’s value had fallen.
The ruling leaves the Circuit Court possession and €12,600 orders undisturbed. It decides only whether Farrelly could appeal out of time, not a fresh rehearing of the underlying ownership claim.