Department store to pay damages for interference with economic interests of shopping centre

Landlord and tenant – contract – injunctions - three leases - legal owner of the Edward Square Shopping Centre seeking an order restraining the department store from disabling the automatic opening mechanism of the Edward Square doors during the opening hours of the Edward Square Shopping Centre – an order requiring the department stores to facilitate the free passage of pedestrians through the shopping centre - orders requiring the shopping centre to comply with the covenants of the leases – specific performance of the leases - damages, including aggravated and exemplary damages, for breach of contract and for unlawful or wrongful interference with economic interests - whether plaintiff is a shopping centre – whether the department store is the anchor tenant - court concluded that the Plaintiff is a shopping centre and the department store is the anchor tenant - whether or not there has been compliance with the terms of the Anchor Lease - rules of contractual interpretation - exclusion clause in an insurance contract - planning issues – whether the department store is in breach of the planning permission - construction of planning permissions - principle of objective interpretation - seeking to ascertain true meaning within the context of the applicable planning process - true intent of the planning authority – to contend successfully, in the absence of a specific condition, that a planning permission imposes a specific obligation, one has to identify a clear and specific commitment, and not just a general indication, in the relevant planning application documentation - whether in the planning application documentation concerning the shopping centre there was a commitment that access and egress would be available for pedestrians via the doors closed by the department store - no commitment from the applicant that there would be pedestrian access and egress to and from those doors - no reasonable member of the public would think that the store entrance doors that are usually kept shut - principles to be derived - substance of the planning permission – department store does not retain the right to disregard warning letter from Council regarding closure of pedestrian access point - department store breached covenant regarding planning - contractual obligations regarding fire safety - recommendation of the Chief Fire Officer – department store did not consider re-opening the entrance despite the Chief Fire Officer’s intervention - department store breached clauses regarding fire safety – breach of insurance covenants – shopping centre not to bear the risk arising from any act or omission of department store - by refusing to re-open the doors the department store breached, and would be continuing to breach but for the interlocutory injunctive relief in place – breached clauses concerning non-structural alterations - conversion to doors that can only be used in the case of emergency constitutes an alteration of a non-structural nature for which the prior written consent of landlord was not sought or obtained – department store breached clauses regarding obstruction of common areas - losses suffered – whether there was a reduction in footfall or trade – whether this was a suitable case in which to award aggravated or exemplary damages in addition to compensatory damages - manner in which the department store has behaved - refusal to pay rent and service features with no proper reason - delayed compliance with court orders - drawing adverse inferences - non-derogation from grant - injunctive relief/specific performance that seek in essence to restrain the department store from closing the doors - prohibitory relief - damages and property rights - precedent clearly establishes that covenants can be enforced via injunctive relief - injunctive relief and covenants - case for granting the injunctive reliefs sought is amply satisfied - causing loss by unlawful means - scarcity of Irish precedent - court finds that the department store interfered with the economic interest of the shopping centre and that it has intentionally caused loss to the shopping centre by unlawful means – shopping centre has suffered loss and damage - level of damages - liability for exemplary damages - case in which aggravated damages ought also to be payable by the department store – Court grants orders against the department store including an order restraining them from disabling the automatic opening mechanism of the doors from its unit in the shopping centre during the opening hours - an order requiring the department store to comply with the covenants contained in the relevant leases - order the payment of aggravated damages for the breaches of contract and wrongful interference with economic interests - quantum of damages to be assessed later.