The former owner of an apartment in south Dublin has been warned by a High Court judge she could be jailed if she fails to comply with a court order to vacate the property by next Monday.
The warning was issued by Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds on Friday to Lisa O’Brien, a commercial marketing and sales manager.
The court was told Ms O’Brien had failed to comply with an order made in April directing her to vacate an apartment at Hunter’s Hall, Hunters Place, Ballycullen, Dublin 24.
Ms O’Brien was the previous owner of the apartment, acquired in 2019 by the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency, a State body that acquires properties for vulnerable and homeless persons. The Agency acquired the apartment for €207,000 from a fund appointed receiver.
Represented by Gary Hayes BL, the Agency said it intends to allocate the property to a person in need of accommodation. The property had been vacant for some time both before and after it was purchased, it said.
The Agency claims that late last February, just as a contractor was about to refurbish the apartment, Ms O’Brien re-entered it, put up a sign warning others not to trespass and claimed the property was her family home.
After she failed to vacate the apartment, the Agency, which claims Ms O’Brien is trespassing, secured a High Court injunction compelling her to vacate the premises by mid-May.
It returned to court earlier this month seeking an order for her attachment and possible committal to prison due to her failure to vacate. She remains in the property, the court heard.
Opposing the application, Ms O’Brien, represented by Gabriel Reynolds BL said she has nowhere else to go and has been unable to secure alternative accommodation.
The court heard Ulster Bank had held a mortgage on the property but sold that to Promontoria (Oyster) DAC in 2017. An order for possession of the apartment was obtained against Ms O’Brien from the Circuit Court in 2014 and a receiver appointed by the fund later sold the property to the Agency.
Ms O’Brien, who disputes the transfer of her mortgage to the fund, intends to appeal the possession order and the High Court order directing her to vacate the property.
In her ruling on Friday on the agency’s attachment and committal application, Ms Justice Reynolds said she was satisfied Ms O’Brien had breached the order requiring her to vacate the property.
The judge said she could not go behind an order previously made by the High Court. The judge accepted the Agency brought this application as a last resort and said the breach by Ms O’Brien was deliberate.
The judge was satisfied from evidence before the court the apartment was not Ms O’Brien’s family home and the Agency is the registered owner.
While Ms O’Brien was represented by a solicitor and barrister during Friday’s proceedings, she had breached a court order directing her to attend before the court on Friday, the judge said.
No proper explanation had been given to the court by Ms O’Brien for her non-attendance and she has until 5pm next Monday July 20th to vacate the property, the judge said.
If she fails to leave, she is to be brought before the court by gardai as soon as practicable, the judge added.