A judge has directed that a civil action over an alleged air rage incident involving the late singer Dolores O'Riordan will be heard in the High Court rather than the Circuit Court.
Mr Justice Tony O'Connor said the personal injuries case brought by flight attendant Carmel Coyne against the estate of the Cranberries’ lead singer was not straightforward.
It involved alleged physical injury as well as allegations of psychological trauma and alleged intrusion into her personal life from press coverage surrounding the incident, he said.
Therefore, there was no clear reason for him to exercise his discretion in this case, as requested by the O'Riordan estate, to remit it to the Circuit Court, he said.
The maximum award in the Circuit Court for personal injury is €60,000 while the High Court can award much higher sums.
Ms Coyne, of Cappagh Road, Galway, sued the singer in 2017 over the November 11, 2014, incident when Ms O’Riordan (46) allegedly stamped on the Aer Lingus flight attendant’s foot during an incident aboard a New York-Shannon flight.
In a defence delivered in July 2017, Ms O’Riordan, a mother of three, denied the claims.
Nearly six months later, on January 15th 2018, Ms O’Riordan was found dead in a bath in a hotel room in London. An inquest later concluded she drowned in the bath while intoxicated with alcohol.
Ms Coyne’s lawyers later applied to the High Court to replace Ms O’Riordan’s name in the title of the case with that of the personal representatives – Peter J. O’Riordan, of Friarstown, Grange, Kilmallock, Limerick and Nollaig Hogan, Riverview Heights, Cahara, Glin, Co Limerick. The personal representatives consented to the order.
Ms Coyne claims damages for alleged assault, battery, false imprisonment and for breach of Ms Coyne’s right to privacy and right to earn a living. The defendants deny the claims.
The case was set down for hearing in the High Court jury list later this month.
On Wednesday, during the callover of the jury list, Thomas Wallace-O'Donnell BL, for the defendants, applied for the case be remitted to Limerick Circuit Court for hearing.
Counsel said the injury suffered by Ms Coyne was within the "moderate" category as outlined in the book of quantum for personal injuries. This was €54,000 and was "well within" the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court, he said.
Alan Browne BL, for Ms Coyne, opposed the application. He said his client suffered a stamp or crush injury to her right foot from a platform type heel of a boot. Her skin was broken and she was unable to weight bear immediately after the incident when she was taken to hospital.
She was out of work for seven months and made several visits to her GP and physiotherapist, he said.
An updated medical report showed there are still certain issues with affecting her foot particularly in relation to cold weather, the type of footwear she uses and long periods when she is on her feet, he said. Her injury did not fit squarely into the "moderate bracket" as claimed by the defence, he said.
She was also diagnosed as having suffered psychologically at the time and since then, he said.
Counsel also argued that the application to remit the case to the lower court should have been made before it was set down for trial in the High Court.
Mr Justice O'Connor, after refusing the remittal application, also said he was prepared to allow a witness who had travelled on the flight with Ms O'Riordan, to give evidence in the case by video-link from New Jersey, America, subject to certain conditions.
