Litigation *

At Porter Morris LLP Solicitors, our solicitors have many years experience in a very wide range of civil litigation cases, including personal injury, commercial, employment, family law, property, mortgage repossession, landlord and tenant disputes, probate, defamation, injunctions, contract and other tort cases.

What is litigation?

Litigation is the process in which disputes are dealt with by the Courts. Litigation is a general term and can be used to describe various types of disputes before the Courts.

We do everything we can to make our clients’ involvement in civil litigation as stress free as possible. We pride ourselves on giving sound, practical advice and guidance throughout the litigation process. We always ensure that our clients are aware of the processes involved, the stage a case is at, the strategies and likely outcomes and we are always available for our clients to discuss their concerns and to explain any issues which may arise.

Civil Litigation

Civil Litigation, meaning litigation without a criminal aspect, concerns litigation between individuals or companies, conducted in the civil courts. The courts which hear civil litigation cases in Ireland are:

  • The District Court
  • The Circuit Court
  • The High Court
  • The Commercial Court (a division of the High Court)

The Court of Appeal will hear cases when an appeal is made to it from a High Court case and the Supreme Court is the Court of final appeal.

High Court civil litigation usually involves disputes concerning large sums of money or complex matters. There is no monetary limit to bringing a civil litigation claim in the High Court but it would be normal to bring cases which fall within the monetary jurisdiction of the Circuit Court or District Court in those Courts and not in the High Court. There is no upper limit on awards which can be made in the High Court.

Civil litigation claims in the Circuit Court are usually brought for disputes in contract, personal injury etc where the amount of damages (compensation) sought does not exceed €75,000 (€60,000 for personal injuries). In certain cases, where the parties to the litigation agree, the Circuit Court can have unlimited monetary jurisdiction. The Circuit Court also deals with some property disputes and most mortgage repossession cases.

Civil litigation in the District Court deals with claims with a monetary value of up to €15,000.

* In contentious business a solicitor may not calculate costs as a percentage or proportion of any damages (or other monies) that may become payable, other than in a manner seeking only to recover a debt or liquidated demand.