Couple get apology after 'hell' of having house wrongly repossessed 

Martin O Reilly leaves court, following a case involving a house which was wrongly disposessed. Picture: Collins Courts

A couple who “went through hell” after their house was wrongly repossessed during a mix up with another property, have received an apology in the High Court.

When Martin and Teresa O’Reilly arrived at their house in Drumcor, Loughduff, Cavan on October 21, 2016, the locks had been changed and they could not get in.

After reporting the matter to gardaí and their solicitor, they learned their house had been wrongly repossessed.

The defendants in the case, Andrew Dolliver and Luke Charlton, receivers with Ernst & Young, had been appointed by BCM Global to repossess the house next door, but instead, repossessed the O’Reillys' property.

Mr and Mrs O’Reilly sued the receivers for defamation and the case was listed for a six-day hearing before a jury.

However, when it came before Justice Tony O’Connor on Thursday morning, Declan Doyle SC, who along with Richard Lyons SC, instructed by James Donohoe & Co solicitors in Cavan for the O’Reillys said: “I’m happy to tell the court that the case is settled”.

“As part of the settlement is it agreed between the parties that the defendants read in open court an apology to Mr and Mrs O’Reilly."

Apology

Paul O’Higgins SC for the defendants read the apology which said: “To whom it may concern. We acknowledge the trespass that was committed on the property of Martin and Teresa O’Reilly at Drumcor, Loughduff, Co Cavan, in 2016 and the hurt and distress that it caused them.

“We apologise wholeheartedly and hope that our settlement with both of them will show our bona fides.

We are happy to accept that the O’Reillys do not and did not at the time owe any monies and were not in debt to us or to our clients.

“We accept that they were rightfully proud of their solvent status.

“They are entitled to their good name, and we hope that this agreement will help them achieve this and that is signed Andrew Dolliver and Luke Charlton, who are the two defendants."

Mr Doyle SC then asked the court on consent to make an order for the adjudication for the plaintiff’s costs. He also asked that proceedings in the case be struck out.

He added: “One of my clients, Martin O’Reilly, would like to thank the court in person for the time and effort that the court has put in to all this."

Mr O’Reilly, who travelled from Cavan alone to attend the hearing, then stood up in court and said: “Your honourable Justice O’Connor, I want to thank you today for presiding over this court and for the court’s vindication of our rights on behalf of myself and my wife.

'We owed nothing to nobody'

“As our house was repossessed in error in 2016, it was the worst thing that happened to us, we owed nothing to nobody and to have our house repossessed and improperly taken, and then to be defamed in such a manner in our community tarnished myself and my wife.

“I want to apologise to you here today, my wife can’t be here, but we appreciate that this court and you Justice O’Connor have vindicated our good name, and we can get on with our lives after seven or eight years of hell. Thank you."

Justice O’Connor thanked Mr O’Reilly and struck out both sets of proceedings and made an order directing the defendants to pay the costs of the plaintiff.

He said: “The court wishes to express its appreciation to the efforts made by Mr O’Reilly to attend court, it’s been a long journey but also to the legal representatives, clearly it wasn’t an easy case.

“I know that it was going to be four or five days of a hearing."

The seven-bedroomed three-story house in Loughduff, which was valued at about €350,000 was being built by the O’Reilly family at time of the error.

It is understood Mr O’Reilly halted finalising the construction of the house while the case was before the courts.

Speaking afterwards, Mr O’Reilly told the Irish Examiner: “After a long legal process, our good names are vindicated. It looked like our property was in negative equity and had to be repossessed when that did not happen. I am glad it is over, and we welcome the apology in court. It was a very stressful time. We plan to sell the house”.