Frozen-fruit tub seller in Salthill fails to secure High Court injunction
A High Court judge in Ireland has refused to grant an injunction to a shop owner seeking to block a nearby kiosk from selling frozen fruit tubs. The judge noted that the contract between the parties was unclear and that the balance of convenience did not justify shutting down the competitor's business.
Why it matters
This case highlights the complexities of commercial exclusivity agreements and the judicial reluctance to disrupt active businesses without clear evidence of harm.
The operator of a shop on Galway’s Salthill promenade has been refused a High Court injunction preventing the sale of tubs of frozen fruit from a kiosk just 350m away.
Blackrock Cottage Development Ltd, which operates a purpose-built shop at the end of the promenade, claimed its sales of a certain frozen fruit-based tub or boat – produced by Alainn Superfoods of Gort – had been severely affected by the sale of product from an outlet called “The Kiosk”.
Blackrock claimed it has an exclusive agreement with Alainn to sell the tubs in the Salthill/Knocknacarra area, which Alainn was now breaching through the kiosk sales which was more prominently positioned along the promenade than Blackrock’s shop.
Judge Siobhan Stack said the contract between the parties “was not terribly clear”, but the balance of convenience favoured not granting an injunction.
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