Rogue landlord Marc Godart’s firm did not own property from which it illegally evicted tenant, court told

A company operated by rogue landlord Marc Godart did not own the property from which it illegally evicted a tenant, the High Court has been told.

Mr Justice Brian Cregan said the revelation raised a host of questions and that he was concerned the company, Green Label Short Lets Limited, claimed to have no assets when the former tenant registered a judgment against it.

The comments came in the latest of a series of hearings in an application from the former tenant, Bolivian-born psychologist Lizet Pena-Herrera.

She is seeking to have Mr Godart (35) and his parents René (71) and Denise (64) cross-examined over the affairs of the company as part of her efforts to execute a District Court judgment against it.

Ms Pena-Herrera got the judgment after the company failed to pay an award of €15,433 made in her favour by the Residential Tenancies Board over her “egregious illegal eviction” from an apartment on Cork Street in Dublin in August 2022 after she raised concerns about overcrowding.

The illegal eviction is one of several linked to Luxembourg national Godart, who has substantial property interests in Ireland.

Several former tenants have registered judgments against him personally for non-payment of RTB awards.

Mr Godart has claimed Green Label Short Lets Limited could not pay the award as it had no earnings for 2023 and had effectively ceased operation.

But at a hearing today, John Kennedy SC, counsel for Ms Pena-Herrera, said it appeared the company and others with similar names were being “used as a flag of convenience” by Mr Godart.

Mr Kennedy noted Green Label Short Lets Limited had been substituted in as the defendant instead of another of Mr Godart’s companies during a District Court fire certificate breach prosecution earlier this year.

“It is almost as if they want judgments against this company,” said Mr Kennedy.

The barrister said Mr Godart’s firm had acknowledged it was in default and that Mr Godart hadn’t paid the monies due.

“If you are a company director, you have to explain that,” said Mr Kennedy. “He cannot use companies for his own benefit without any consequences.”

The motion is being opposed by Green Label Short Lets Limited on the basis the High Court does not have jurisdiction to hear the application.

Gary McCarthy SC, for the company, argued that the court could not engage in an examination of the merits of the case in determining the application. He said the company had offered to allow Ms Pena-Herrera to inspect its books and records but the offer had not been taken up yet.

During exchanges with the judge, Mr McCarthy said Green Label Short Lets Limited was not the owner of the apartment from which Ms Pena-Herrera was illegally evicted. He said it was owned by a woman from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, who had “nothing to do with Mr Godart”.

Mr Justice Cregan said this disclosure raised “a host of other questions”.

The judge said that if someone was a landlord, they owned a premises, rented it out and paid tax on their earnings.

If a landlord acted unlawfully and there was a judgment against them, then the landlord would be “a mark”, the judge said.

“So, the question here is how can it possibly be the case that the respondent company Green Label Short Lets Ltd is a landlord without a premises,” said Mr Justice Cregan.

“It seems to me the question that arises is whether Mr Godart and Green Label Short Lets Ltd are acting for an undisclosed principal, an undisclosed landlord, an undisclosed owner of the premises where Lizet Pena Herrera had a tenancy.”

The judge said he had twice offered Mr Godart’s side the opportunity to explain this, but it had not done so fully.

He said the company had purported to enter into a tenancy with Ms Pena-Herrera, purported to take rent and purported to serve eviction notices that were unlawful.

“It gets a judgment [registered] against it and ‘hey presto’, suddenly there are no assets. I just want to understand what is going on,” the judge said.

Mr McCarthy said liability for the RTB award was not an issue in the case and what the court had to decide on was whether the company had assets to satisfy the judgment.

Mr Justice Cregan will rule on the cross-examination application next week.

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