Woman (20s) seeks to share proceeds of house sold by Irish businessman (60s) she claims is her husband

A woman in her mid-twenties has claimed before the High Court that she is entitled to a share of the proceeds of sale of a house she shared with an Irish businessman aged in his late 60s she says she married several years ago.

The court heard the woman claims that the parties, who cannot be named for legal reasons, got married following religious and civil services in her native country, which is outside of the European Union, when she was aged in her early 20s.

The court heard that the man has challenged the validity of their marriage.

The woman, represented by John Temple BL, said she met the man when he was in her home country.

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The non-EU national woman, who is now aged in her mid-20s, said she found the man to be loving and kind towards her. They were married a few months after being introduced to each other.

However, she claims the man began dating other girls, some as young as 13 or 14 years of age, a short time after they married.

While polygamous unions are recognised in her native country, she claims the man’s actions placed a considerable strain on their relationship.

Arising out of that, she claims the two reconciled and relocated to Ireland where they have resided for the past few years.

While things were good for a period, she claims that problems in their relationship re-emerged. She claims things deteriorated after she found him lying naked on his bed on a video call to a woman whom she said was also naked.

She claims he began removing internal locks from doors, shouted at her to leave the house and locked all the external doors so she had no way to leave for days.

On another occasion, she alleges she heard the man talking via another video call to his former wife, again while naked.

She claims in that conversation he said he was making a fool of the plaintiff and kept her passport locked away.

She eventually left the family home.

She also claims she obtained a protection order from the District Court after he started sending her inappropriate communications.

During those hearings, the man claims their marriage was not recognised in Ireland.

At the High Court, Mr Temple said she had successfully taken an action in her native country’s supreme court to have their marriage recognised there.

She is in the process of having the marriage recognised and registered in this jurisdiction by the Irish Circuit Court.

She claims that after learning of the decision of the courts in the woman’s native country, the man decided to sell the family home in Ireland.

She claims property could not be sold without her consent. Last week the High Court granted the woman an ex parte injunction preventing the man from selling the house until she consents.

She also secured an order preventing the man’s solicitor from releasing the proceeds of any sale to anyone until her application to have the marriage recognised in Ireland has been completed.

The matter was briefly mentioned before Ms Justice Eileen Roberts during Thursday’s sitting of the High Court.

The judge was informed the house had been sold. The woman has no issue with this as the sale appears to have been completed before the order was granted against the man, but she was concerned about the proceeds of the sale.

The man was aware of the court’s order and in an email to the woman’s lawyers had said that the proceeds of the sale remain with a solicitor who the man claims is representing him.

Ms Justice Roberts adjourned the matter, with the order to remain in place, to a date later this month.