The curious case of the supermarket trolley that ran away reached Navan District Court on Friday. Janet Kenny of Bullynascarry was doing her ordinary shopping at Supervalu Oldcastle on a Thursday last March. She spotted a man, Francis Napper of Oldcastle emerging from the supermarket and unloading his shopping. The supermarket car park is on a hill. She told Judge Eirinn McKiernan that he was on the top of the hill while she was at the bottom.
She said that he let go of the trolley “and the trolley takes off and rolls down the hill and hits my car”. The estimated damage to her car was €709. She said Mr Napper was disputing that amount and she got an independent assessor to examine the car and he estimated that the repairs would cost €1,300. Ms Kenny said she also had CCTV evidence. Her claim for damages before the court was €709.
Mr Napper’s name was called and when he did not appear the judge gave Ms Kenny a decree against him for the full amount. Mr Napper appeared in court some 15 minutes after the case had been finalised, saying he had mistakenly gone to Trim court. The judge apologised to him but said that she had already dealt with the case and that the claimant had left the courthouse in Navan. She told him that he was entitled to appeal her decision.
