By Aodhan O’Faolain
A dispute between a mother and son over a Co. Kilkenny-based property that includes a guesthouse and 85ac of land is to go to mediation, the High Court has heard.
David Thomas has sued his mother Breda Thomas, who he describes as being a “a very controlling individual”, over what he claims is her unlawful ongoing occupation and use of the farm and large dwelling house at Ballyduff, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny.
The claims are fully denied by his mother.
Property dispute
33-year-old David Thomas, who has worked in the horse-racing industry, claims that he is the owner of the property, which is operated by his mother as a guesthouse.
He claims that the property was willed to him by his late grandmother and was kept in trust for him and his sister.
He said that last year his lawyers advised him that the property had been legally transferred to him in 2010, but claims that this fact was hidden from him by his mother.
After confronting his mother about this, he claims that their relationship has broken down over the dispute.
In reply, Breda Thomas denies her son’s allegations and says she does not have any resentment against her son, who despite everything that has occurred between them, she “loves and cherishes”.
She said she did not assault nor psychologically abuse her son as he has alleged.
She rejects his claim that he was forced to move out of Ballyduff or moved when the room he was staying in was needed for guests.
He had been facilitated in comfortable accommodation in a part of the property known as the “castle” and would be welcome back to Ballyduff she claimed.
She said she has never deceived him and was greatly shocked that he would bring her to court.
She accepted the property at Ballyduff was willed to her son and his sister by their late grandmother Barbara Thomas in 1993.
Other property
Breda Thomas said that her husband and David Thomas’s father, Peter Thomas, had died some years earlier.
It is claimed that a life interest in another farm and house, located a mile from the Ballyduff property, was left to her by her late husband.
Breda Thomas said that the house on that property is no longer habitable. She said that she has lived in Ballyduff for her entire married life and has nowhere else to go.
She claimed that it was always understood that she would remain there and has spent many years and much expense building up the guesthouse business and running the farm.
High Court
When the matter returned before Justice Brian O’Moore on Monday (July 17), senior counsel David Kennedy for Breda Thomas said that following out of court discussions, the parties had agreed that the dispute could go to mediation with a view to resolving the matter.
The judge agreed to adjourn the case to allow the mediation take place.
In his action David Thomas seeks an order granting him possession of the dwelling house and the farm.
He also wants the court to direct the County Register for Co. Kilkenny to execute documentation that would result in David Thomas’ legal interest in the property being registered with the Property Registration Authority.
He further seeks damages against his mother for alleged trespass, breach of duty, and alleged unjust enrichment.
As part of his proceedings David Thomas also seeks an injunction restraining his mother from trespassing on the property, as well as an order preventing his mother from watching him or the property.
He claims that due to the alleged “persistent deceitful and violent conduct” of his mother, no personal relationship exists between them.
He claims that he currently does not have anywhere else to live, and has been staying with his aunt, on an interim basis. The claims are fully denied.