An unusual court case caught my eye last week about a mother and daughter whosued a neighbour accusing him of planting lawn-grass that was too tough to cut. The women told Belmullet District Court they had hired their neighbour to seed their lawns at a cost of €780 and they insisted that only Type 2 seed be used as it had been recommended by another neighbour.
The court heard the defendant planted the seed but there was no growth in the lawns until April and then the grass sprang up overnight. However, the women said they became suspicious that the specified lawn-seed had not been used when friends told them that they had hay and not a lawn. They hired a man to cut the grass but he told them it was too tough for a lawnmower and suggested they get somebody with a tractor to do the work.
A lawn expert, called on behalf of the plaintiffs, said he believed a certain amount of lawn seed had been used but not all and the lawns would need to be cut twice a week to keep then under control.
For his part, the defendant insisted he had sowed the correct Type 2 seed as directed by his clients and an expert on his behalf said he believed the lawns were of poor quality because of a lack of fertility and because of high rainfalls in November and one of the worst winters ever experienced.
Dismissing the case with no order as to costs, Judge Kevin Kilraine said he believed all concerned had approached the case honestly and were telling the truth. But, said the Judge, reseeding often went wrong and the bad weather of last winter had a detrimental effect on the lawns in question.
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