Marc Godart, a controversial landlord, has been held personally accountable for covering 80% of a former tenant’s legal costs which were incurred in a lawsuit brought against him for an illegal eviction. The legal costs concern a €15,433 award from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).
Even though Lizet Peña-Herrera filed the lawsuit against Green Label Short Lets Ltd., Mr Justice Brian Cregan made it clear that Mr Godart, the only director of the company, was truly implicated in the litigation. The judge noted that Mr Godart had contested the case vigorously.
According to the judge, Mr Godart, who is originally from Luxembourg, displayed bad faith and impropriety throughout the lawsuit proceedings. The judge suggested that Mr Godart was under the impression that he could exploit a “free rider” situation where the company would gain all legal costs if he won. However, if he lost, the company, which he alleges stopped trading and has no capital, would be incapable of covering Ms Peña-Herrera’s legal costs.
The situation led the judge to infer that Mr Godart, aged 35, or one of his controlled companies provided the funds to contest the previous tenant’s request to question him about the firm’s financial status in court.
Although Ms Peña-Herrera, a Bolivian psychologist who has been living in Ireland since 2008, did not win on all claims, the judge concluded that the landlord should not be responsible for all her costs.
Upon a plea from Gary McCarthy, Mr Godart’s chief counsel, the judge decided to hold back the effect of the order, pending a potential appeal. Following Ms Peña-Herrera’s High Court application, an order was given that Mr Godart must come to court and provide details of the company’s finances. Subsequently, it was revealed that Green Label obtained a loan to pay the amount the RTB ordered in 2022.
Several legal cases and complaints made to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) have featured the name of Mr Godart and the businesses he is associated with. This week, a decree by a District Court magistrate demanded that he pay damages exceeding €13,000 within nine days, a sum awarded by the RTB to two ex-tenants as compensation for their illegal eviction from a Dublin 1 property situated in Emmet Street.
On Thursday, in his ruling regarding the case costs, Mr Justice Cregan highlighted Mr Godart’s submission of a fabricated statutory declaration, which was submitted along with an eviction notice, claiming that Green Label was the proprietor of the Dublin 8 letting where Ms Peña-Herrera was expelled from, and planned to dispose of it.
The Justice pointed out that Mr Godart later admitted to the High Court that the company was asset-less and solely served as a leasing agent. His legal counsel stated that the property was in the possession of a woman residing in Co Wexford.
Mr Justice Cregan deemed Mr Godart’s fraudulent declaration as an act of dishonesty and malpractice.
Ms Peña-Herrera was represented in the High Court by John Kennedy SC, Liam Bell BL, and the law firm of McGrath Mullan.
In 2022, after voicing her concerns about health and safety due to purported overcrowding at the property, she was evicted. The RTB labelled this action as an extremely illicit eviction which happened unexpectedly while she was away at her place of work.