*The small claims case was before Ennis District Court.
AN Ennis woman has won a court battle concerning a designer Karen Millen dress that she says was ‘ruined’ only days before she was due to wear the gown at a wedding last June.
This follows Judge Adrian Harris in a Small Claims case at Ennis District Court granting Angela Downey a decree of €280 for the price of the damaged dress against Tatjana Merzvinska of The Atelier clothing repair shop.
Judge Harris made the award in favour of Ms Downey after she produced the ‘damaged’ Karen Millen dress in court for the judge to inspect.
Mrs Downey’s husband carried the dress across the courtroom up to the witness box and Ms Downey gave Judge Harris a close-up of the damage to the dress.
Mrs Downey of Ros Na Rí, Shanaway Rd, Ennis was due to attend a wedding in June of last year and paid out €280 for the online purchase. She brought it and another dress belonging to her daughter in May to The Atelier clothing alteration service for alteration.
Mrs Downey said that she wanted The Atelier “to take up the length of the (Karen Millen) dress, take in the width and adjust the sleeve length”.
Mrs Downey collected the Karen Millen dress and said that she did not see the need to try it on at The Atelier as she had enjoyed a very good service from them previously. Mrs Downey said that when she tried on the dress at home a couple of days before the wedding the dress “was damaged beyond repair”.
She said that the dress “was ruined”. She said, “The hem was ragged, the beading and decoration was falling off, the lining had been stretched and misaligned”.
She said, “The dress was too short and the wedding was the next day”.
Mrs Downey returned to The Atelier to highlight the damage done and the business offered to repair the damage “but in my opinion the dress could not be repaired and certainly could not be prepared in time for the wedding”.
Mrs Downey told the court, “I did not do the damage to that dress, it was in perfect condition when I handed it in for alteration… I wouldn’t sit here today if I didn’t believe the dress was in perfect condition when it was handed in”.
Mrs Downey subsequently purchased a replacement dress in Brown Thomas in time for the wedding at a cost of €199. She said that she was not making any claim for that additional purchase.
In the case both sides had no legal representation and in court Ms Merzvinska disputed that she owed Ms Downey the €280 for the cost of a new dress.
She told Judge Harris that Mrs Downey did not provide her with a receipt of the dress which would have been needed by her accountant to process.
Ms Merzvinska said that she refunded Mrs Downey the combined €215 cost of altering Mrs Downey’s dress and her daughter’s. She said that The Atelier was not responsible for the store for the cost of the garment which it did not sell.
