The High Court has struck out proceedings in which Walter Harvey sought €1.5 million in damages from the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and other defendants over complaints about how his unfair dismissal claim was handled.
In a judgment delivered on 16 July 2018, Mr Justice Binchy said the proceedings were an abuse of court process, disclosed no cause of action, and were frivolous and vexatious. He also ruled that allegations in the pleadings were unnecessary and scandalous and likely to prejudice, embarrass or delay a fair trial.
Harvey’s claim arose from his dismissal by the Courts Service in 2008. He had brought an unfair dismissal claim before the Employment Appeals Tribunal in 2009, but withdrew it while it was at hearing, saying he felt he was not receiving a fair hearing. He later brought wrongful dismissal proceedings in the High Court; those were struck out in 2015. His appeal was subsequently struck out after he did not pursue it.
The current proceedings, issued in 2014, alleged that the Tribunal and State officials had denied Harvey fair procedures and acted improperly. Among other claims, he said witnesses failed to attend the Tribunal hearing and alleged misconduct by Tribunal and Courts Service personnel. These were allegations in his pleadings, not findings by the court in this judgment.
The defendants applied to dismiss the case, arguing that the pleadings were unclear, lacked particulars and attempted to pursue complaints that could have been addressed through an appeal or judicial review at the time. They also argued that the claim lacked a legal basis and causation. Harvey said health difficulties and problems obtaining legal aid had hindered his progress, but the judge recorded that he provided no supporting evidence.
Justice Binchy said the pleadings were “almost impossible to follow” and that the complaints, insofar as they could be understood, concerned the historical handling of the Tribunal proceedings. The court held that Harvey could not now construct a separate claim based substantially on those complaints, outside the time limits for an appeal or judicial review.
The ruling struck out the proceedings on three grounds: abuse of process; no cause of action and frivolous and vexatious proceedings; and unnecessary and scandalous material likely to prejudice, embarrass or delay. The judge did not decide whether Harvey had also been guilty of inordinate and inexcusable delay, saying there was no need to address that question after ruling on the other grounds.