O'Neill v. Dunnes Stores

On the evening of 4 th July, 2002, the plaintiff was assaulted by a man called Ciaran McCormack. The assault took place at a shopping centre in Thurles, Co. Tipperary. The plaintiff contends that the circumstances of that assault are such as to give rise to a liability on the part of the defendants to compensate him in respect of the injuries sustained by him. In order to appreciate how such a claim comes to be made it is necessary to set forth the facts of the matter in some detail.

The plaintiff is now 34 years old. At the time of the assault he was, and indeed continues to be, employed as a store man by a company called Premier Foods at Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

The defendant is the principal tenant of the shopping centre at Thurles, Co. Tipperary. It conducts a drapery, grocery and off-licence business there.

At about 8.00 p.m. on 4 th July, 2002, the plaintiff went to the defendant's store. Whilst there he decided to telephone his grandmother to see if she wanted him to do any shopping for her. He went to a pay phone which is located at the back of the shopping centre. As he approached the rear entrance of the building a woman whom he did not then know said to him "help there's been a robbery". He subsequently learned that this lady is called Sadie Stapleton and was a cleaner in the shopping centre.

Responding to her cry and not knowing what to expect he continued to the rear of the building. There he saw Mr. Keith Byrne, a security officer employed by the defendant, involved in a struggle and holding a man named Alexander Colville against a wall outside the building.