The son at the centre of a bitter family dispute over a mews site which now houses a top south Dublin restaurant has told the High Court his elderly mother had "no problem" when he asked her for a lease signing the property over to him.
Arthur ffrench O'Carroll said his mother, Renee ffrench O'Carroll, was "perfectly willing" to give him a lease when he first suggested running a restaurant at the rear of her home in Dublin's Fitzwilliam Square in the late 1980s.
Ms ffrench O'Carroll, a mother of five, has claimed Arthur had exerted undue influence on her in getting her to sign a lease for development of the mews premises.
Mr ffrench-O'Carroll, of Wellington Place, Clyde Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin, has denied his mother's claims regarding a 99-year lease of April 19th, 1989 assigning to him the mews premises at Pembroke Lane. The original mews building was subsequently demolished in 1998 and a new building constructed, from which the Diep Le Shaker restaurant now operates.
He has appealed to the High Court against the Circuit Court decision last year which found the signing by Ms ffrench-O'Carroll of the disputed lease was procured by undue influence and the lease was therefore null and void.
Beginning his evidence yesterday, Mr ffrench O'Carroll said he spoke in the late 1980s to his mother of his idea of converting the mews into the restaurant. A lease was required as security by the bank from which they had borrowed money to finance the venture, he said. He said his mother was delighted at the prospect but warned him that he might have difficulty getting planning permission. When permission was granted, his mother, who was given independent legal advice, signed a 99-year lease, he said.
They had opened the Lane Gallery and restaurant in late 1989 and he and his wife spent long hours working there. In 1994 the lease could not be found, he said. He told his mother he would require another lease in order to protect the investment.
His mother agreed to this but wanted certain conditions attached, he said. Christina ffrench O'Carroll, wife of Arthur, said she had invested £100,000 of her own money in the Lane Gallery restaurant. She would never have agreed to invest her money unless she had the security of a lease.
Mr Justice Thomas Smyth adjourned the case to a future date yet to be fixed. In the meantime, he urged that efforts be made to resolve the matter.