The High Court decided yesterday that the fiance of a woman who died in a road traffic accident was "a dependant" of the deceased under the Civil Liability Act and was entitled to damages, which were assessed at some €82,000.
The decision is believed to be one of the first of its kind made by an Irish court.
Samantha Quinn (29) ,of Slievebloom Heights, Rathdowney, Co Laois, died on September 2nd, 2003, in an accident when she was a back-seat passenger in a vehicle driven by Shaun Playdell which collided with a lorry on the Kildare/Monasterevin road. Ms Quinn and Mr Playdell died in the crash.
The dead woman's father, Francis Quinn (59), Springlawn Heights, Blanchardstown, Dublin, brought an action against an administrator acting for the late Mr Playdell, of Errill, Co Laois. Mr Quinn brought the action as father and personal representative of the estate of his late daughter.
In his reserved judgment, Mr Justice Diarmuid O'Donovan made a total award of €98,056 and costs. The judge decided that the biggest part of the award - €82,661 - should go to the late Ms Quinn's fiance, Noel McDonagh, also of Slieve Bloom Heights, Rathdowney.
He decided that €6,000 should go to Ms Quinn's father and that her two stepsisters, Sinead (19) and Frances (17) Quinn, and her stepbrother, Matthew Quinn (14), should each get €1,965.
Mr Justice O'Donovan said it had been submitted for the defence that the evidence did not establish that Mr McDonagh had been living with the deceased as husband and wife for a continuous period of not less than three years prior to her death and that, therefore, he was not a dependant of the deceased within the meaning of the Civil Liability Act. He (the judge) took a contrary view. Mr McDonagh had given evidence that he met MsQuinn in August 1997 and they immediately struck up a relationship. Mr McDonagh stated that in September 1997 they began to live together in his parents' house.
In summer 1999 they rented an apartment where they lived for six months. At that stage they decided they wanted to buy a house of their own and that it was wasteful to pay rent.
At that time, Ms Quinn was working as a receptionist with the Irish Brokers' Association and Mr McDonagh was a financial adviser with Bank of Ireland. Mr McDonagh had said his income would have been significantly greater than that of Ms Quinn.
When they left the apartment, they returned to live with Mr McDonagh's parents and paid his mother a nominal rent of €50 a week.
When he and Ms Quinn bought the house in Rathdowney, it was Mr McDonagh's mother who paid the deposit.
Apparently, she had put away the rent which he had paid to her and she insisted that it be used to pay the deposit on Slievebloom Heights.
In all the circumstances, said the judge, he was satisfied Mr McDonagh and Ms Quinn had been living with each other as man and wife for a continuous period of not less than three years prior to her death and that, therefore, Mr McDonagh was a dependant of the deceased within the meaning of the Civil Liability Act.
The judge said that of all those close to Samantha, he had no doubt but that Mr McDonagh was the worst affected by his fiancee's death. Damages were assessed under a number of headings: mental distress, €25,395; loss of benefit from deceased's earnings, €7,532; loss of deceased's services, €63,910 and agreed special damages, €1,219, making a total of €98,056.
One leg of Mr McDonagh's claim for loss of dependency was that he had lost the benefit of services which his late fiancee would have provided for him as a housekeeper, cleaner, cook and general factotum.
A stay was granted in the event of an appeal.