THE HIGH Court has granted a temporary injunction restraining a premises in Clontarf, Dublin, being operated as a “head shop”.
Mr Justice Roderick Murphy yesterday granted the interim order, returnable to Thursday, to Patrick and Alice Lynch, owners of the ground floor premises at Clontarf Road. The order is against Jeffrey Carey, the tenant of the premises.
The order restrains Mr Carey carrying on any business on the premises other than that of florist/gift shop and also restrains him from doing anything which would make the insurance on the premises void or voidable.
The order was sought by Brendan Watchorn SC, for the owners, who said they were very concerned that the use of the premises as a florist/gift shop had been changed and was being operated as a head shop selling controversial substances.
Mr Watchorn referred to protests outside the premises last Saturday and said local community groups were gravely concerned.
His clients had bought the property as an investment and had given their consent to have it converted to a florist/gift shop, he said.
Without any warning or consent, the use of the premises had been changed and it became a media issue last Friday when there were phone calls to an RTÉ radio show that encouraged people to phone in. It was then his clients became aware the shop had been converted and there was a history of head shops being burned down, Mr Watchorn continued.
Windows had been damaged at his clients’ shop. His clients had also been informed that their insurers would not maintain insurance for a head shop because it was completely different from a florist/gift shop.
His clients had a premises which was highly exposed and no longer covered by insurance.
If anything happened to the shop within the next 24 hours, there was no insurance and this would be a “a catastrophe” for his clients as the premises was effectively their pension scheme and they would be left without income.
Counsel added the Lynches lived in Clontarf and had no wish to add to the distress of local parents.
The Lynches claim the user clause for the premises had been amended about December 2007 to allow the tenant to trade in the premises as a florist/gift shop.
They claim they had, in April 2008, agreed in the assignment of the lessee’s interest in the premises to Mr Carey but the use of the premises has now been changed in breach of covenant.
They claim that the lease requires that nothing be done on the premises which may be a nuisance or cause annoyance, disturbance or inconvenience to others.