Donald Trump seeks to overturn €14,095 Doonbeg court order

Lawyers for the US President Donald J. Trump appeared in court in Co Clare on Tuesday seeking to have a judgement for €14,095 against him set aside.

At Kilrush District Court, Pat Whyms BL appeared on behalf of the businessman in the case against Cork civil engineer John V. Lennon.

On June 15th last, Mr Lennon secured a judgement of €14,095 against Mr Trump after a bill of €14,095 Mr Lennon sent to Mr Trump went unpaid.

Mr Lennon of John Paul Lennon & Co, Consulting Engineers, Rosehill Terrace, Cork said he had the court order with him in court.

Mr Lennon has previously stated that the €14,095 bill arose from the work he put into lodging an objection against plans for a 200,000 tonne rock barrier at the Trump International golf resort in Doonbeg on the Clare coast.

Trump Doonbeg firm TIGL Ireland Enterprises Ireland Ltd subsequently withdrew that rock barrier plan last December in favour of a scaled down planning application that is currently before Clare County Council.

Mr Lennon claims Mr Trump wasted his time in the time he put in lodging the hand-written six page objection against the large scale plan. Mr Lennon has also lodged an eight page objection against the current planning application.

At Thanksgiving last November, Mr Lennon was pictured outside Trump Tower in New York City staging a one-man protest with a sign saying “No wall in Doonbeg, Ireland”.

The case involving the US President appeared on the Kilrush court list as "John Vianney Lennon vs Donald J Trump". The west Clare town of Kilrush is located 17km from the Doonbeg golf course that Mr Trump's organisation purchased in February 2014.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump resigned as a director of the two Trump Doonbeg resort firms just days before he was sworn in as president.

When the case was called Mr Whyms confirmed he was representing Mr Trump, and sought judgement to be set aside.

Mr Lennon was representing himself in court and he told Judge Durcan: "An order was made for me to collect €14,095 and €725 costs against Donald J Trump. "

In reply, Judge Patrick Durcan said: "Obviously the order has been made by the court, but it is open to the respondent (Mr Trump) as in this case to make an application pursuant to court rules and the court has to deal with it."

The judge adjourned the case to December 12th for hearing in Ennis.