Twomey has been critical of certain litigants, lawyers and professional experts, an approach that attracts positive and negative responses
That drew the ire of well-known solicitor Cian O’Carroll, who said he was “shocked” at the judge’s comments. Failure to document a client’s injuries would amount to professional negligence on his part, the solicitor said.
When Mr Justice Twomey is allocated to hear cases in provincial venues, that can spark “a flood” of applications by plaintiffs’ lawyers to have their cases listed in those venues adjourned to another date when they might be heard by a different judge, he said. Not for the first time, he expressed concern about the “chilling” impact of such litigation, even when it fails, for the provision of play facilities for children and for the freedoms of all citizens. Such cases, he said, are more appropriately brought in the District Court where legal costs are much lower than in the High Court.
He awarded costs against the unemployed plaintiff but remarked it is a “win and no lose” situation for plaintiffs with little or no money and a “lose-lose” situation for defendants in such cases. Based on various authorities, the judge set out the important principles in slip and fall claims – a plaintiff’s obligation to look where they are going, duty to take reasonable care for their own safety and the application of ‘common sense’ in personal injury claims.
Lawyers, with the ongoing approval of successive governments, were continuing to refuse to settle compensation claims before they got to court, he said. A judgment of Mr Justice Twomey’s in March 2022, in a case by Word Perfect Translation Services Limited v the Minster for Public Expenditure and Reform, has provided food for thought for lawyers.
Lawyers have interpreted the decision as meaning alternative dispute resolution should be carefully considered before resorting to litigation, a winning party cannot depend on getting 100 per cent of its legal costs and the court will have regard to whether both sides conducted the proceedings in a cost-effective manner.
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