Mechanic admits to judge he lied about owning cruiser

DublinBus mechanic Ian Doyle on Friday told a judge he was the owner of a €50,000 luxury sports cabin cruiser that he previously told her belonged to his father.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane, in the Circuit Civil Court, had heard earlier that Doyle, of Academy Buildings, Park West, Nangor Road, Dublin 12, had been attempting to sell the cruiser after he had been ordered to pay the legal costs of a fraudulent personal injury claim he had brought against Zurich Insurance and the MIBI.

The court had granted an injunction restraining anyone from selling or interfering with the boat and on Friday left that injunction in place apart from the Co Cavan Sheriff who will now be asked to seize and sell the vessel.

When Mr Doyle appeared in court he confirmed he was the owner of the boat. DAC Beachcroft solicitor David Culliton told the judge that Mr Doyle had lied to the court and “a piece of paper” he had produced clearly showed him to be the owner.

Mr Doyle owes legal costs of €28,881 and barrister Moira Flahive said he was aware of this while advertising sale of the cruiser on Adverts.ie. The boat was currently at The Boat Yard, Belerne River Village, Dernaglush, Belturbet, Co Cavan.

Recover costs

Ms Flahive said that in October last year the President of the circuit Court, Mr Justice Raymond Groarke, found that Mr Doyle had fraudulently claimed €60,000 damages against motorist Belinda McLoughlin and the MIBI in a “set-up” road traffic accident. An order for costs had been made against him which the MIBI and Zurich sought to recover.

Ms Flahive told the court Mr Doyle was one of four linked claimants seeking a total of €240,000 damages against McLoughlin who Zurich had refused to indemnify and, on the part of the MIBI, had fought the cases on the basis the accident had been a set-up.

The remaining three claimants in the set-up accident included Peter Slattery (41) an undertaker and part-time airport driver, of Charlemont, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9. Belinda McLoughlin was his girlfriend who had admitted liability for the accident but had taken no part in the defence of the cases against her and the MIBI.

Whiplash

Two other claimants were Samantha Byrne (29) of Suncroft Drive, Tallaght, and her sister, Jessica Byrne (25) of Bawnlea Avenue, Jobstown, Tallaght. The four each made €60,000 whiplash injury-type claims against McLoughlin and the MIBI.

Judge Groarke in October last said that one would want to be blind not to see a hand orchestrating a number of collisions involving the four. “These accidents were planned . . . and all four plaintiffs were willing participants in them and party to a fraud,” he stated.

He said Mr Slattery “who had but a passing familiarity with the truth” would be entirely comfortable to engage in a scam of fraudulent claims arising from set-up accidents. The legal costs of each fraudulent claim had been awarded against each claimant in favour of the MIBI.