ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00016558
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Deividas Vaikasas | Kathleen O'Keeffe Landlord |
Representatives |
| Mr. Daniel Boland BL |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 21 Equal Status Act, 2000 | CA-00021542-001 | 03/09/2018 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 04/02/2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Niamh O'Carroll Kelly
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 25 of the Equal Status Act, 2000, following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint.
Withdrawals:
The complainant withdrew is discrimination claims under the category of Civil Status and Religion. |
Respondent’s Preliminary Application:
The complainant brought an identical matter to the PRTB for adjudication. In the PRTB claim the complainant alleged that he was discriminated against by the Landlord for her failure to provide proof of ownership of the dwelling for an HAP application. The within claim is identical. The PRTB issued a decision on the matter in September,2018 wherein the claim was not upheld. It is on that basis that the claim before the WRC is Res Judicata. |
Applicant’s Response to Respondent’s Preliminary Application.
The PRTB informed the complainant that he should file the discrimination claim with the WRC for adjudication. The matter is under a different act and therefore should be heard by the Adjudication Officer. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The claim brought by the complainant to the PRTB is identical to the claim before me today. In the PRTB application he states that he has been discriminated against by his landlord when she refused to provide proof of ownership of the property in relation to his HAP application. The decision from the PRTB issued in September,2018. In the within claim he states “I informed my landlord that I would be applying for HAP and she agreed, however after finishing all my paperwork, she refused to provide me with proof of ownership of the property on the ground that making the property HAP compliant might incur additional costs in repair”. I can find nothing to differentiate the PRTB claim from this claim. On that basis, I find that the matter is Res Judicata. Accordingly, I do not have jurisdiction to hear the complainant. |
Decision:
Section 25 of the Equal Status Acts, 2000 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under section 27 of that Act.
The matter is Res Judicata. |
Dated: 06/02/19
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Niamh O'Carroll Kelly
Key Words:
Res judicata. |