The High Court has ordered a Dublin landlord to vacate a building he occupied in a dispute with a tenant who operates a guesthouse in Leeson Street.
Guesthouse operator Derek Byrne secured the order against his landlord Desmond Killoran, who he says barricaded himself into the Leeson Bridge Guesthouse, shutting out staff and guests five days ago.
Mr Byrne told the court he had a three-year lease on the building, but before Christmas Mr Killoran made efforts to terminate it.
In a sworn statement, he said on 2 January staff were unable to access the premises as Mr Killoran had entered the guesthouse and barred the doors and fire exits.
He said he had to get in through a side window and make immediate arrangements to remove guests from the building and have them accommodated elsewhere in a "hugely embarrassing and damaging" episode.
Mr Byrne said there had been no dispute with his landlord until then and the reasons for his request to terminate the lease were unclear.
He had been served with letters before Christmas alleging he had failed to fulfil the conditions of his lease agreement.
He said he believed the real reason for the defendant's actions was related to the appointment of a receiver over Mr Killoran's interest in the property.
Mr Byrne said he believed the move was an attempt to prevent the receiver from collecting the rental income he normally paid to Mr Killoran.
He said he discovered the defendant had broken into the reception desk and accessed his computers, visa machine, booking records and the master keying system and had recoded the system to bar him from accessing all but one of the guest rooms.
Mr Byrne said he was now in a situation where he could not take any new bookings and was "gravely concerned" at his ability to honour existing bookings.
He said the business could not operate or function while the defendant remained in occupation of the reception area.
Mr Justice Colm MacEochaidh granted an order requiring Mr Killoran to vacate the premises and from occupying it further.
Mr Killoran was not represented in court as the application was made on a one-side-only basis.
The case returns to court later this month.
