The Court of Appeal admitted an affidavit from defendant Patrick Horkan for consideration in a motion by plaintiff Thomas Kearney seeking an extension of time to appeal a High Court order. The court’s decision addressed the admissibility objections only; it did not determine whether the extension should be granted.
Kearney’s motion concerned an order made by the President of the High Court on 18 November 2014. Issued on 12 January 2015, it first came before the Court of Appeal on 6 February and was listed for hearing on 23 February 2015. Kearney relied on his own affidavit, and Horkan filed a responding affidavit.
Kearney objected that Horkan’s affidavit included matters outside his first-hand knowledge and that it gave Dock Gate, Dock Road, Galway as his “place of abode”, although Kearney said this was Horkan’s place of business rather than his residence.
Delivering judgment, Mr Justice Kelly considered the rules governing affidavit content and the deponent’s stated address. He said that, on an interlocutory motion, the rules permit statements of belief with their grounds, including hearsay. Such material may affect the affidavit’s weight, he said, but does not by itself make it inadmissible.
On the address objection, Kelly J referred to earlier English and Irish authorities interpreting “place of abode” as capable of including a place of business. He concluded that Horkan’s stated business address complied with the rule. He added that, even if it did not, the court could receive an affidavit despite an irregularity in its form, and he would have used that power to overrule the objection if necessary.
The judgment also noted that Kearney had not explained why he failed to appear at the specially fixed High Court hearing in November 2014. The Court of Appeal’s order was limited to admitting Horkan’s affidavit for consideration on the extension-of-time motion. Irvine and Hogan JJ agreed with Kelly J’s judgment.