The High Court ordered a woman to be attached and committed to prison until she purges her contempt after finding she had wilfully refused to comply with orders to leave the family home. The order was stayed until 15 June 2017 to give her time to consider her position.
The judgment, delivered by Ms Justice Bronagh O’Hanlon on 25 May 2017, followed a motion brought by the woman’s husband. The court heard the motion on 16 May. The case was a Circuit Court appeal concerning judicial separation and family law.
The underlying order, made by the Circuit Court in March 2014, directed that the family home be sold. On appeal, the High Court upheld the sale order in April 2016 and directed the woman to vacate the home within six weeks. It also gave her husband the right to occupy the property once she left.
In July 2016, the High Court directed the husband to provide €4,000 to help with a deposit and rent while she found alternative accommodation. The money was to be recouped from the sale proceeds. She returned the cheque. In December 2016, the court extended the deadline to leave until 31 January 2017.
The husband told the court that the continued occupation prevented work to prepare the property for sale and said the dispute had affected his health and employment. He said he had repeatedly offered the €4,000. The woman accepted that she had not left, returned the cheque and did not intend to leave before 2025. She said she could not afford rent, described the money as “contaminated”, and cited an arm injury and her daughters’ circumstances. She also accepted in cross-examination that she was wilfully in breach of court orders.
The woman’s lawyers argued that committal should be a last resort and that other remedies should be considered. They said she had nowhere else to live and no means to rent, and sought a stay if committal were ordered. The husband’s lawyers argued that she had been given repeated opportunities to comply without sufficient excuse.
The High Court granted the reliefs sought in the motion, finding clear evidence of a continuous and wilful refusal to comply with the served orders. It ordered her attachment and committal until she purges her contempt, but stayed that order until 15 June 2017. The judgment records the order and stay; it does not state whether the committal took effect after that date.