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A detective garda, who was stabbed under his right eye after having been called to sort out trouble on Halloween night 2010, has been awarded more than €35,000 damages in the High Court.

In deciding whether a person should make a will, it is best to explain firstly what a will is.  

A former worker at a Tesco café outlet in Wexford has been awarded €41,000 by the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) following her dismissal for failing to immediately pay for food she consumed there.

In the past year, we have seen a consistent increase in the number of enquiries in relation to challenging Wills. Some of the cases require litigation, others are resolved by mediation or agreement between the parties.  One of the possible reasons for this is the challenging economic circumstances which prevail as claimants pursue value.  However the difficult financial circumstances a claimant may be in is not of itself reason in law to justify such a claim.  The claims fall into two broad categories.  The first category concerns challenging or contesting a Will on grounds of invalidity, lack of capacity, duress/undue influence, or conflict of interest of an executor. The second concerns beneficiary claims by a spouse/civil partner, or children of the deceased. Will challenges Statutory validity There are prescribed formalities for the manner in which a Will is to be signed under the 1965 Succession Act (the “1965 Act”).  This includes the requirement for the person making the Will (the testator / testatrix) signing in the presence of two witnesses with those two witnesses signing their name in the presence of the testator.  Some of the other conditions prescribed by section 77 and 78 of the 1965 Act include a requirement that the testator be over 18 years of age and be of sound disposing mind.   Capacity It follows therefore that, in order for a Will to be valid, a person must have the appropriate capacity to sign the Will at the relevant date.  The presumption of validity applies and it will be incumbent upon the person challenging the Will to assert the reasons for that individual not having capacity.  Duress and undue influence The statutory formalities provide that the testator must make a Will freely.  Therefore to the extent that there is a third party who has pressurised the testator into making a certain provision for that person or to adapt a certain structuring in their Will, such may be a valid reason to have the Will set aside.  The concept of undue influence although related is distinct.  It requires that a person who has by virtue of his relationship with the deceased significant influence over him / her and unduly exercises such influence, resulting in the Will being drafted in a certain manner to that person’s knowledge.  If a Will is declared to be invalid under any of these claims by the court, the Will shall be set aside with any previous Will being resurrected and deemed to be the last Will. Beneficiary claims

Unmarried fathers in Ireland need greater clarity when it comes to their rights.

The ASR and ASR XL orthopaedic products were subject to a worldwide recall in 2010

Over 500 women received lump sums of up to €100,000 over the past year, providing they had the capacity to apply.

Actions for damages have been initiated which involve almost 300 investors in property funds promoted by Allied Irish Banks.

Four women who claim they were used as forced labour in a Magdalene Laundry but who have been excluded from the Government compensation scheme have launched a High Court challenge.

A County Dublin man who slipped and fell in the toilets of a nightclub has lost his High Court personal injuries claim after a judge ruled he fell because he had engaged in horseplay.