High Court grants order to prevent eviction of woman and elderly mother

A woman who cares for her ill and elderly mother has secured a temporary High Court order preventing a mortgage lender from evicting them from their family home.

Today at the High Court businesswoman Eileen Veronica Tynan secured an interim injunction preventing Start Mortgages from acting on an order for possession of their family home at Old Callan Road in Kilkenny, which would have resulted in the county sheriff evicting her and her mother.

The court heard that Ms Tynan is seeking the injunction on the basis that the decision by Start, from whom she obtained a mortgage in 2005, to effect the eviction is "entirely unwarranted, unfair and unnecessary" in the circumstances.

The injunction was granted by Ms Justice Mary Laffoy on an ex parte (one side only) basis. The Judge made the matter returnable before the High Court next week.

Ross Maguire SC for Ms Tynan, of Villa House, Old Callan Road, Kilkenny said his client was informed earlier this week by the sheriff that he intended to proceed with the eviction by Friday February 4 unless he had a proposal from Start Mortgages.

Counsel said that Start obtained an order for possession over the property in October 2008 after Ms Tynan got into arrears. However that order was not acted on after Start Mortgages and his client agreed that she would pay off her arrears and would continue to make payments.

Counsel said an event happened that resulted in Ms Tynan getting into arrears again. His client was then informed last December that the order for possession would be acted on. Counsel said that his client entered into negotiations so that she could continue making payments.

Counsel said after learning of the sheriff's intentions it appeared that "on one hand Start were talking to his client" while at the same time "were instructing the sheriff to go ahead with the eviction".