Irish Asphalt and James Elliot disputes resolved after agreements

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Two High Court disputes between Irish Asphalt Ltd and James Elliot Construction were resolved after out-of-court agreements. On 26 October 2017, Ms Justice Caroline Costello was told at the Commercial Court that the first case was being dismissed.

James Elliot Construction had alleged that products supplied by the defendants contained excessive pyrite and that Irish Asphalt misrepresented their quality. The claims were denied. Bill Shipsey SC, for James Elliot Construction, said the company was to acknowledge that there was no basis for the deceit or misrepresentation claims and had contributed to the defendants’ legal costs.

The second case concerned a petition to appoint a liquidator to Irish Asphalt over an alleged unpaid debt of more than €2.4m. Patrick Leonard SC, for James Elliot Construction, said the parties had agreed that the petition could be withdrawn and the proceedings struck out. Mr Justice Tony O’Connor agreed to strike out the proceedings. John Gleeson SC, for Irish Asphalt, said mediation had helped resolve them.

The debt related to a 2011 High Court judgment obtained by James Elliot Construction against Irish Asphalt. That case arose from Irish Asphalt’s supply of stone infill containing excessive pyrite for the Ballymun Central Youth Facility in Dublin, which subsequently needed major repairs. The judgment was appealed to the Supreme Court, which referred legal issues to the European Courts of Justice. The Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the appeal.