The High Court dismissed a negligence claim against Highview Inns Limited over a man’s fall in a nightclub toilet in Skerries, finding that horseplay caused the accident and that the operator was not negligent.
In a judgment delivered on 13 October 2015, Mr Justice Barr preferred the evidence of the nightclub’s toilet attendant, Elijah Fatiroti. He accepted Fatiroti’s account that the plaintiff lost his balance after trying to kick a friend, who moved out of the way. The court found that the fall resulted from horseplay, not negligence by Fatiroti, and dismissed the plaintiff’s case.
The plaintiff said he slipped on water and urine as he left a toilet cubicle at about 00:40 on the night of 3–4 March 2012. He said his friend Michael Caldwell saw him fall and that his clothes became wet from contact with the floor. The plaintiff suffered a dislocation of his right knee.
Caldwell supported the plaintiff’s account that he had fallen near the urinals, but Fatiroti gave a different version. He said the plaintiff and Caldwell had been pushing and shoving, and that the plaintiff attempted a jump kick as Caldwell stood at a urinal. Fatiroti said the floor was dry before the fall and that beer spilled from the plaintiff’s glass during the accident.
An engineer retained by the plaintiff tested the floor tiles. The tests indicated a low likelihood of slipping when the tiles were dry and a moderate potential for a slip if they were contaminated with liquid. The engineer said the plaintiff’s described fall was consistent with a film of liquid on the tiles. This was evidence before the court; the judgment’s conclusion rested on its preference for Fatiroti’s account.
The judge said the occupier’s duty was to take reasonable care for visitors’ safety and noted that an attendant had been stationed in the toilet area throughout the evening. He was not impressed by the plaintiff’s evidence, including his explanation for changing his account of whether he wore dress shoes or trainers. He also described Caldwell’s evidence as evasive. The court accepted that Fatiroti carried out his duties to the best of his ability and concluded that there had been no negligence by the defendant.
The judgment records dismissal of the plaintiff’s case. It does not state a damages award or address any further order.