Tort Litigation: Recent Developments - CPD Event

Hosted by the Law School, Trinity College Dublin.

Saturday 17 June 2023

Date of Event:	Saturday, 17 June 2023
Time:	9.30 am - 1.30 pm
CPD Hours/Points:	3.5 points
Venue:	Thomas Davis Theatre, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin

The courts and legislature have been very busy on matters affecting tort litigation over the past twelve months. The Law School of Trinity College Dublin is holding a conference on the morning of Saturday, 17 June 2023, which will provide a comprehensive update on all key developments.

All significant decisions on employers’ liability, occupiers’ liability, public authority liability, breach of statutory duty, professional negligence, vicarious liability, damages awards for personal injuries, road accidents, limitation of actions, economic loss, practice and procedure will be considered. The team of speakers have expertise in their areas. There will be an opportunity for questions and discussion.

Programme of Events

9.00	Registration

9.30 - 10.00	Recent Developments in Employers' Liability - (Professor Desmond Ryan)

10.00 - 10.30	Negligence Claims against Medical and Legal Professionals: Recent Developments - (Dr. Ciaran Craven, Senior Counsel)

10.30 - 11.00	Occupiers; Liability, Public Authority Liability, Road Accidents, and Damages for Personal Injuries: Recent Developments - (William Binchy, Barrister at Law)

11.00 - 11.30	Tea / Coffee

11.30 - 12.00	The Statute of Limitations and Tort Litigation: Recent Developments - (Ellen Gleeson)

12.00 - 12.30	Practice and Procedure in Tort Litigation: Recent Developments - (Sarah Reid, Barrister at Law)

12.30 - 13.00	Recent Developments in Defamation Litigation - (Prof Neville Cox)

13.00 - 13.30	Questions and Discussion

* The right to substitute lecturers / lectures is reserved.

Speakers

William Binchy is a practicing Barrister, lecturing on the LLM Degree programme at Trinity College Dublin. He is co-author, with Bryan McMahon, of books on torts and co-editor, with John Ahern, of a book on the Rome II Regulation.

Neville Cox is a barrister and Professor in Law in Trinity College Dublin where is also currently the university registrar. He is the author of eight books most recently, with Eoin McCullough SC Defamation Law and Practice (2nd ed 2022) and, with Val Corbett and Mark Connaughton SC, Employment Law in Ireland (2nd ed, 2022). He is also the author of numerous book chapters and articles in law journals.

Dr. Ciaran Craven is a Senior Counsel. He is co-author of books on tort litigation, medical negligence and psychiatry and the law.

Ellen Gleeson is a barrister who has been in practice at the Bar for 16 years. Medical Negligence litigation is one of her areas of practice and she has published previously on limitation of actions in tort litigation.

Sarah Reid is a practicing barrister, lecturer and legal consultant to the public sector. She is the author of two academic texts with Roundhall (The Devils Handbook and Criminal Law: Exam focus) and has produced two podcasts on legal affairs. Since joining the Bar in 2008, Sarah has focused her practice in the area of medical negligence and medical devices. She speaks regularly at conferences and has been appointed as advisory counsel to the Oireachtas on two occasions advising Dail & Seanad Committees on legislation.

Dr. Desmond Ryan, BL, is an Associate Professor in the School of Law at Trinity College Dublin and a practicing barrister. His principal areas of research interest are in Employment Law and Tort Law, with a particular emphasis on the contract of employment, vicarious liability and dismissal law. He has published widely in journals including The Cambridge Law Journal, Professional Negligence, The Modern Law Review, The Civil Justice Quarterly, Legal Studies, The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer, the Dublin University Law Journal, the Irish Employment Law Journal and the Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly.

Questions to be addressed throughout the Conference

How did section 26 applications for dismissal for exaggeration fare in O’Sullivan v Brozda [2022] IECA 163, Keating v Mulligan [2022] IECA 257, Meehan v Shawcove [2022] IECA 208 and Lipinski (A Minor) v Whelan [2022] IEHC 452 (Coffey J)?
In Carroll v Phelan [2023] IECA 91, how did the Court of Appeal distinguish its earlier decisions in Byrne v Ardenheath [2017] IECA 293, Lavin v Dublin Airport Authority [2016] IECA 261 and White v Doherty [2019] IECA 295 when assessing the duty of an occupier to a visitor under section 3 of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1995?
What was the effect of applying the Dunne v National Maternity Hospital principles in Cloonan v HSE [2022] IECA 129
Why did claims for breach of statutory duty and negligence fail in Muldoon v The Minister for The Environment and Local Government [2023] IECA 61?
For the doctrine of vicarious liability and for tort litigation concerning sexual abuse, what is the potential relevance in Ireland of the recent decision in Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah's' Witnesses v BXB [2023] UKSC 15?
How was the employer’s duty to protect employees from harm caused by others addressed by the Court of Appeal in Davey v Sligo County Council [2023] IECA 39 and by Bolger J in O’Brien v Bus Eireann [2023] IEHC 10?
How did the Court of Appeal address the issues of malice and quantum of damages in Gordon v Irish Racehorse Trainers Association [2022] IECA 303?
What was decided on the issue of accord and satisfaction in Singh v Corbertt [2023] IEHC 27? What significance had section 4(4) of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1995 to the outcome of the Court of Appeal decision of O'Mahoney v Tipperary County Council [2022] IECA 265?
How does section 41 of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 amend section 4(4) of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1995?
What did Phelan J decide on the issue of a tender offer in Feely and Moloney v Bank of Ireland [2023] IEHC 86?
How was the issue of amendment of pleadings dealt with in Tolan v Brady [2023] IEHC 130 and X v Google Ireland Ltd [2023] IEHC 56?
What did the Court of Appeal have to say in Ahmed v Castlegrange Management Company [2022] IECA 269 on the duty of occupiers in anticipation of adverse weather conditions and on the nature of the evidence necessary to support expert opinions?
How did the Court of Appeal interpret the limitation period for defamation proceedings in Reidy v Pasek [2023] IECA 44?
What are the most significant changes contained in the draft General Scheme of the Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2023, published on 28 March 2023?
What are the requirements of the tort of unlawful interference with economic interests, as considered in Gary Keville Transport Ltd v MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) Limited [2022] IEHC 130?
Why did Simons J dismiss the medical negligence proceedings in Rooney v HSE [2022] IEHC 132?
How was the requirement in section 27(1) of the Civil Liability Act 1961 that a third party notice be served as is reasonably possible addressed in Coleman v Joyce [2023] IEHC 79?