Courts

Luxembourg landlord Marc Godart ‘believes he can defy the laws of this country’, judge says

Judge says Godart should answer questions on oath about why award has not been paid to tenant illegally evicted

Controversial landlord Marc Godart

Colm Keena
Mon May 13 2024 - 15:38

The High Court has ruled that controversial landlord Marc Godart (35) should be ordered to come before it and answer questions on oath about the affairs of one of his companies.

In a strongly-worded ruling delivered in the presence of the former tenant who brought the case, Mr Justice Brian Cregan said Mr Godart, who is from Luxembourg, “believes he can defy the laws of this country, including orders of this court”.

The judgment was delivered on Monday in a case where Lizet Peña-Herrera, a psychologist from Bolivia who has been living in Ireland since 2008, is seeking certain orders against Green Label Short Lets Ltd.

The court has decided Mr Godart, the sole director of Green Label Short Lets, should come before it to answer questions after the company failed to pay two awards totalling more than €15,000 awarded to Ms Peña-Herrera by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) following her illegal eviction from her Dublin home in 2022.

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Ms Peña-Herrera has used the RTB awards to secure an order for payment from the District Court, but the money remains unpaid.

In his ruling Mr Justice Cregan said he was “very concerned at the pattern of unlawful behaviour” that has been conducted Green Label at the direction of Mr Godart.

“This company has unlawfully terminated the applicant’s tenancy; it has unlawfully evicted the applicant before the expiration of her notice; it has unlawfully removed her personal belongings and put them into storage; it has ignored two directions of the RTB to pay compensation to the applicant; it has breached planning regulations; it has breached fire safety regulations; it has refused to comply with a District Court order. This is an appalling litany of unlawful conduct.”

Ms Peña-Herrera has told the court by way of affidavit that the first she heard of Green Label Short Lets was when she was served with notice to quit.

In the notice, which is a statutory declaration, the judge noted, “Mr Godart solemnly and sincerely declared that the ‘property is owned by Green Label Short Lets Limited’ and that he intended to enter into an agreement to sell the property nine months after the date of termination of the lease.”

Likewise, in his third affidavit in the case, Mr Godart said Green Label was the landlord. “Yet there is no evidence that the company was the owner or that it sold the property or that any proceeds of sale were reflected in the company’s accounts.”

The landlord would have owned the building in which Ms Peña-Herrera was a tenant, he said. “As such, it would own an asset (the building) which could be realised to ensure [Ms Peña-Herrera] is paid her debt.”

The application from Ms Peña-Herrera was resisted by a legal team, including a senior counsel, acting for Green Label. The company, by way of affidavits from Mr Godart, has said it has effectively ceased trading and does not have the finances to pay the award.

Mr Justice Cregan found that it was not possible under High Court rules to order Mr Godart to appear before him to explain noncompliance with a District Court order. However he decided a provision in the Companies Act allowed the court to summon Mr Godart of its own motion.

He was not satisfied that Mr Godart, “despite his protestations of honesty in his affidavits”, has set out the full truth in his affidavits.

In particular, the judge said, he was concerned about the matter of who was the landlord. Ms Peña-Herrera entered into an agreement with a person she thought was the landlord, he said.

However Mr Godart has said on affidavit Green Label is only a letting agent and does not own any assets. Yet it is not clear who exactly the landlord is.

“I am concerned that the respondent is acting as an agent for an undisclosed principal. That raises a host of questions as to who that principal is. Despite giving [Green Label] two opportunities to address this question, I am not satisfied that any proper explanation has been provided.”

Mr Godart is to be ordered to produce accounting records and other documents relating to Green Label, the judge decided.

John Kennedy SC, with Liam Bell BL, instructed by Eoghan McMahon of McGrath Mullan solicitors, said inspection of documents should be followed shortly thereafter by an examination under oath of Mr Godart.

Gary McCarthy SC, with Darragh Haugh BL instructed by Vincent Shields, of Shields solicitors, for Green Label, said he would have to take instructions but it could be that a stay will be sought based to an intention to appeal. The matter was adjourned to Thursday.

Colm Keena

Colm Keena

Colm Keena is an Irish Times journalist. He was previously legal-affairs correspondent and public-affairs correspondent

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