Woman loses action for damages against pub but owners ordered to pay costs
A woman who suffered a leg fracture when she says she fell on an allegedly wet floor at her local pub yesterday lost her High Court action for damages.
But 47-year old Samantha Griffin won’t have to pay legal costs as the Judge awarded the costs of the four day action against the pub owners saying he took a very dim view that it was not disclosed the pub floor which was examined by engineers on both side for the case had been replaced during a renovation two years ago.
Mr Justice Bernard Barton said the replacement of the wooden floor at The Laurels, Clondalkin two years after the incident had only emerged during cross examination of a pub witness.
The judge said there was no satisfactory explanation given as to why the fact that the floor had been replaced had not been communciated to the court, the legal teams on both sides and to the engineers on both sides who had prepared reports for the case.
If the matter had not come out during careful cross examination, the judge said the court would have bee left " proceeding on an entirely false premise" and he said there was the "possibility of wholly unjust result"
Mr Justice Barton said what happened constitute enough for him to depart from the rule that the losing side pays the costs.
Making an order for costs to Ms Griffin and against the pub owners for the duration of the four day trial, the judge said he took a very dim view of what had happened in the case and where he said the legal teams on both sides and court were " left in the dark" in relation to the replacement of the floor.
He refused a stay on the costs order.
"What happened in this case is outrageous", he added and said he had great sympathy for Ms Griffin.
Samantha Griffin (47), Cherrywood Grove, Clondalkin, Dublin had sued Bellway Ltd with offices at Lower Camden Street, Dublin trading as The Laurels, Main Street, Clondalkin, Dublin as a result of the accident on December 7, 2013.
She had claimed there was an alleged failure to properly or adequately maintain the floor and that patrons were allegedly allowed to dance in close proximity to tables containing drinks.
Patrons, she further claimed were allegedly allowed to dance while holding or consuming drinks.
Bellway denied the claims and said the floor was dry. It also contended Ms Griffin pushed a fellow patron away from her whilst dancing and lost her balance.
It further claims there was contributory negligence on the part of Ms Griffin and she had allegedly consumed alcohol such as to impair her balance.
Dismissing the action, Mr Justice Barton said in the CCTV footage Ms Griffin can be seen with her hands out to a man who had approached her and which she said in evidence had said something offensive to her. The judge said that her backwards fall was a continuation of the "action reaction " sequence after she met the other patron. Referring to the fact that she said her clothing when she was on the floor was wet, the judge said it was probably from the drink in her own glass which spilled as she tried to save herelf.
He was also satisfied the alcohol Ms Griffin had that night "had a significant inebriating effect on her" asd she fell when she stepped back from the encounter with the patron.
