Yamamori not operating club in the public interest, Hoxton claims

High Court Reporter

Lawyers for the leaseholder of Dublin’s Hoxton hotel have rejected an adjoining venue’s argument that it is operating a nightclub in the public interest.

Counsel for Trinity Hospitality submitted to the High Court on Tuesday that Yamamori Izakaya is a “company making profit”, and is not “providing a cultural institution to Dublin”.

Trinity Hospitality Ltd is suing Yamamori Izakaya Ltd, the company behind the restaurant and late-bar on George’s Street, claiming that it has had to close 31 bedrooms because of complaints from guests about noise from the Yamamori premises.

The Hoxton, formerly the Central Hotel on Exchequer Street, says the room closures have resulted in over €500,000 in lost earnings.

Yamamori disputes the hotel’s claims and also says the problem lies in the construction and noise insulation of the premises, which opened for trade in November following a big refurbishment of the old Central Hotel building.

On Thursday, the Hoxton opened its application for an interim injunction restraining the alleged noise nuisance they say Yamamori is causing, pending a full hearing of the case.

The start of the two-day hearing before Judge Oisín Quinn was delayed after lawyers said they were making “enormous strides” during out-of-court discussions between the two sides.

However, the case opened in the afternoon after the judge was informed there was “no white smoke”.

Barrister Andrew Walker, for Trinity Hospitality, submitted that the cause of the noise nuisance was Yamamori’s decision to move its nightclub operation from the basement of its premises to the ground floor.

Counsel said that the “DJ-type music” played at Yamamori is “structurally-borne as well as airborne”, meaning the sound moves up walls and causes vibrations.

This music is played five nights a week on the ground floor, he said, and has continued since the commencement of the proceedings.

Counsel said Yamamori is “utterly vague” as to why they moved the nightclub operation from the basement. Walker said that his client has offered to pay for soundproofing works in the Yamamori basement, a possible solution to the problem.

Addressing Yamamori’s defence, Counsel noted that they say an injunction will close its premises and put it out of business.

He submitted that Yamamori has not shown what financial impact an injunction restraining DJs playing music would cause to its operation.

He said his client did not want Yamamori to go out of business, and has no objection to its running of a bar and restaurant.
Counsel also noted Yamamori’s claim that its operation of a nightclub is in the public interest.

Counsel submitted that this was not in the public interest. “The defendant is a company making a profit ... it’s not providing a cultural institution to Dublin,” Walker said.

Walker noted claims by the defendant’s directors that Yamamori is an “iconic premises”, but he contended that “nightclubs come and go”.

Counsel reiterated that this side is not trying to “close down” the business, and have offered to refurbish the premises’ basement to allow for the nightclub to be operated from there.

The judge raised issue with the order to restrain the noise nuisance sought by the Hoxton, noting the proposed order would ban Yamamori from playing music.

The judge said the Hoxton side needed to consider the precise order it was asking the court to make.

The case continues.