A young Nigerian woman who claims she and her two children were wrongly ejected from a house in Co Meath where they have been tenants for nearly a year was granted an order by the High Court yesterday directing that they be allowed to return to live in the house.
Mr Justice Quirke granted the interlocutory injunction to Ms Mosun Adio (22). He adjourned the matter to next Tuesday to allow time for the owners of the house to prepare an affidavit setting out their case.
The judge said he expected his order to be acted on "immediately". If somebody else was in occupation of the premises, they must be removed and the woman and her children, who had been there for 12 months, be restored.
It was stated that Ms Adio and her two sons, aged five and 22 months, were ejected from the house at The Green, Pheasants Run, Clonee, on Saturday last and were staying with a friend, who has five children, a few doors away from the house where they had been residing. Ms Adio claims she was not given any or any adequate notice to quit the premises.
In granting the injunction, the judge said the legal status quo, from what he had been told, was that the tenancy had not been lawfully terminated. That had not been contradicted. The defendants could make out what evidence they wished on affidavit as to why the injunction should not be continued when they came back to court next week.
Under the injunction, the defendants, Ms Maeve and Mr David Dalton, were also directed to allow Ms Adio have quiet and peaceable enjoyment of the residence. They, or their servants or agents, were also restrained from in any way intimidating or interfering with Ms Adio other than in lawful exercise of their rights.
Mr Justice Quirke said lawyers for the defence could discover what was required for a 12-month tenancy.
Applying for the injunction, Mr Declan McGovern SC, with Mr Maurice Coffey, for Ms Adio, said his client was a tenant under an oral agreement. Not only was Ms Adio locked out of the property but her goods and furniture were still in the house, he said. Her two-year-old child had been barred from going back in.
There had been no justification whatsoever for ejecting Ms Adio, and even if there were, the defendants had certainly gone about it totally in the wrong fashion, he added. The current situation, he was instructed, was that the defendants' son and partner had moved into the house with the acquiescence of the defendants.
Mr Joseph O'Sullivan, for the defence, said there was a one-year oral tenancy which expired on September 23rd last. Notice had been given to Ms Adio on September 11th last. The defence was vigorously contesting the case and had not yet had an opportunity to produce evidence.
Mr Justice Quirke said they would be doing so in circumstances where Ms Adio and her children would be returned to the premises in accordance with the law.