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Supreme Court dismisses appeal from High Court, and affirms refusal to extend time for an appeal from a decision of a County Registrar from an order of possession, where the application to extend time to appeal was not made until months after the time for appeal had elapsed, on the grounds that: (a) an appeal to the Supreme Court from the High Court, following an appeal from the Circuit Court could only be heard in exceptional circumstances; (b) the County Registrar was not required to determine under EU law whether a particular term of a contract was unfair, but should transfer the matter to the Circuit Court if there were an arguable defence; and (c) the borrowers in the instant case had failed to establish how the particular clause was unfair to them in circumstances where they had been in substantial arrears since 2009 and proceedings were not issued until 2014.
O'Malley J (nem diss): Extension of time to appeal - criteria to be considered - Council Directive 93/13/EC on Unfair Contract Terms in Consumer Contracts (implemented in this State by the European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 27/1995)) - fairness of terms in mortgage - decision of High Court made on appeal from Circuit Court - whether decisions of High Court on appeal were 'final and unappealable' - s.39 of the Courts of Justice Act 1936 - amendment to the Constitution - Article 34.4.1º - jurisdiction of Court of Appeal - 34.5.3º - exceptional circumstances warranting a direct appeal from high Court - matter of general public importance - interests of justice - whether alteration of constitution affected interpretation of statute - “Without prejudice to Article 34.5.4º of the Constitution, the decision of the High Court... shall be final and conclusive and not appealable.” - loan agreement in 2007 - €810K - mortgage repayable over 39 years - civil bill for possession in 2014 following default - order made in 2017 - no appeal within time allowed - change of solicitor - application to extend time to appeal - refusal to extend time - expiration of time limits - whether case res judicata - approach of EU authorities - procedural rules - finding as to whether a particular contract term was fair or unfair - whether such finding could bind a lower court - strength of potential defence based on EU contract terms directive - whether there were 'requirements' for extension of time to appeal - application to extend time made months after expiration of time to appeal.
Note: This is intended to be a fair and accurate report of a decision made public by a court of law. Any errors should be notified to the editor and will be dealt with accordingly.
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