‘We believe there is justice in Ireland’
An immigrant couple have been awarded compensation by the Supreme Court after a long legal battle over the seizure of their restaurant business by their landlord.
Djamel Mennad and Fatima Zohra-Azizi originally took legal action against landlord Barra Flynn, now deceased, nearly six years ago after he took possession of the premises from the couple, citing non-payment of rent.
The court’s ruling ordered that the couple – who successfully represented themselves, despite language barriers – be paid their legal costs and expenses incurred in both the High Court and Supreme Court by Flynn’s widow and the executors of his estate.
However, because Flynn’s executors, Joseph Ralph Sweeney and PJ Dwyer, were joined as co-defendants later in the legal battle, the court ordered Murphy-Flynn to agree between them who the judgement should proceed against in order for the couple to claim damages.
Reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision, Mennad and Zohra-Azizi told Metro Éireann: “We are happy we got justice. The judgment is all our life. We have spent half of our 12 years’ residency in Ireland fighting for our rights in the courts. We believe that there is justice in Ireland.”
The couple, originally from Algeria, have been living in Ireland for the past 12 years. Zohra-Azizi is also a French citizen.
The court heard that the husband and wife, who are proprietors of Rayan Restaurant Ltd (trading as Dibella Restaurant in Athlone), bought a lease by assignment from solicitor Barra Flynn on 1 August 2002. The annual rent for the premises on Athlone’s High Street was €45,000, and they paid a deposit of one quarter’s rent as agreed by both parties.
A substantial amount of work was then carried out by the tenants on the premises, which was previously an antique shop. The couple told the court that these renovations cost in the region of €150,000. During the renovation, rent amounting to a total of €36,000 was also paid to Flynn.
