Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal over contempt proceedings against residents

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Pepper Finance’s appeal over contempt proceedings against residents of two Dublin buildings. The proceedings were reported on 24 February 2023.

The High Court found the occupants in contempt in 2021 after proceedings concerning their refusal to leave the buildings. None of the individuals was committed to prison. The residents said they had nowhere else to go.

The occupants appealed, and the Court of Appeal set aside the attachment and committal orders because they had not been properly served with all the relevant legal documents. It also found that the penal endorsements were invalid. Pepper appealed that decision.

The Supreme Court will consider questions including how court orders are served, the nature of civil contempt and whether people who occupied property as trespassers or after a possession order can assert constitutional protection for their dwelling. The appeal also raises whether Pepper has legal standing to maintain it, following a claim that the company had sold the loans at the centre of the dispute.