The High Court has ruled that a former Portlaoise Prison inmate’s claim for damages over “slopping out” was barred by the six-year limitation period for actions founded on tort. The ruling resolved a preliminary issue in the case; the court proposed dismissing the action and invited further submissions before making its final order.
The plaintiff was detained in a single cell at Portlaoise Prison from 2000 to 2004. He had to use a lidded bucket for toileting and empty and wash it at intervals during the day. In proceedings issued on 22 December 2014, he sought damages, including aggravated and exemplary damages, for alleged breaches of his constitutional rights.
The defendants pleaded that the action was statute barred under section 11(2) of the Statute of Limitations 1957, which sets a six-year limit for actions founded on tort. The plaintiff argued that his claim was a “pure constitutional tort”, not founded on tort and therefore outside that limitation rule. The defendants submitted that constitutional damages claims, including claims not matching a recognised common-law tort, could still be actions founded on tort for limitation purposes.
Justice Barr considered earlier decisions, including McDonnell v Ireland, Simpson v Governor of Mountjoy Prison and Savickis v Governor of Castlerea Prison. The court concluded that the plaintiff’s claim for breach of constitutional rights arising from slopping out was an action founded on tort and came within section 11(2).
The judge found that the plaintiff knew of the practice while he was in prison and was not under a disability or otherwise prevented from bringing his claim. The court held that the cause of action became barred sometime in 2010, before the summons was issued in 2014.
The judgment, delivered electronically on 6 April 2022, states that the proposed final order is to dismiss the action against the defendants. The parties were given two weeks to provide brief written submissions on the terms of the final order, costs and any other matters. The judgment does not record a final dismissal order or a decision on costs.