Supporting Documents:
136-17 AFL.pdf136-17 Rspndt Notce.pdf136-17 Rspndt Notce-O'Grady Ltd.pdf

BETWEEN

Result: The Court refuses leave to appeal.

Reasons Given:

1 The applicant is a litigant in person who seeks to appeal the ex tempore decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on the 10th of August 2017 (Ryan P, Irvine Whelan JJ) in which the Court of Appeal refused the applicant’s application for an extension of time within which to appeal an order made by the High Court (Faherty J) on the 18th of May 2017 striking out the applicant’s judicial review proceedings against the decision of An Bord Pleanála on the grounds that the proceedings were improperly constituted and the applicant had not sought leave pursuant to s.50A of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended).

2 The Court considers it desirable to point out that the determination of the Court on an application for leave, while it is final and conclusive so far as the parties are concerned, is a decision in relation to that application only. The issue is whether the questions raised, and the facts underpinning them, meet the constitutional criteria for leave. It will not save in the rarest of circumstances be appropriate to rely on a refusal of leave as having a precedential value in relation to the substantive issue in the context of a different case. Where leave is granted, any issue canvassed in the application will in due course be disposed of in the substantive decision of the Court.

3 The decision of the Court of Appeal was concerned with an application for an extension of time to appeal the decision of the High Court. It is plain from both decisions of the Court of Appeal and that of the High Court, that the applicant faced formidable procedural hurdles. The Court of Appeal refused his application to extend time on the grounds that it had not been satisfied that the plaintiff had established there was some mistake which had caused him to fail or file his notice of appeal within the time provided, but that in any event he had also not established any bona fide ground of appeal as required by the third element of the decision of this Court in Éire Continental Trading Company Ltd v Clonmel Foods Ltd [1955] 1 IR 170.

4 The decision of the Court of Appeal was the application of well established case law. The Court is satisfied that the decision raises no issue of general public importance and it is not otherwise in the interests of justice to permit an appeal to this Court. Accordingly the application will be refused.

And it is hereby so ordered.