The High Court has dismissed in their entirety a man’s claims that gardaí and other State defendants conspired against him through false arrests and malicious prosecutions.
Mr Justice Cian Ferriter ruled that the plaintiff had not established the elements of malicious prosecution, including that the relevant proceedings ended in his favour, lacked reasonable cause or were brought maliciously. The judgment, delivered on 14 September 2023, followed a two-day trial at which the plaintiff and Sergeant Andrew Geary gave evidence.
The claims arose from criminal proceedings following complaints by the plaintiff’s former wife about alleged breaches of a protection order and bail conditions. The judgment recounts that the plaintiff was convicted of breaching the order and harassment in the District Court in 2011; those convictions were upheld after a full rehearing in the Circuit Court. The High Court said those proceedings could not support a malicious-prosecution claim because they had not ended in the plaintiff’s favour.
Other charges concerned alleged theft and fraud at hotels and filling stations. On appeal, the Circuit Court upheld findings that the facts had been proved in two cases involving Killiney Castle Hotel and Gandon Inn, while applying the Probation of Offenders Act rather than proceeding to conviction. The Circuit Court allowed appeals in other cases, including a Kilrush filling-station charge. Mr Justice Ferriter found reasonable and probable cause for the prosecutions and no evidence of malice by gardaí or the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The plaintiff also alleged that his arrests, time in custody and complaints investigations formed part of a wider conspiracy. The judgment records that the parties disputed the time he spent in custody: he put it at 175 days in one account and 164 in another, while the Gardaí contended it was 105 days. The judge concluded that his custody followed court warrants or orders. He also rejected the allegation that gardaí had maliciously contacted the IDA over a proposed call-centre business.
The court heard that an Assistant Commissioner’s 2013 report found no evidence supporting the plaintiff’s complaints against gardaí. Mr Justice Ferriter said he accepted Sergeant Geary’s evidence and found the plaintiff’s conspiracy allegations unsupported. He dismissed the claims against all defendants. The judgment did not overturn or otherwise alter the criminal-court decisions.