The High Court refused James Elliott Construction Limited’s request for an additional category of discovery concerning testing and test results for material supplied by Roadstone from its Huntstown quarry to Irish Asphalt Limited or Lagan Cement Group Limited.
The ruling, delivered by Ms Justice Costello on 28 July 2016, was an addendum to an earlier judgment on four discovery motions and their costs. The additional request was briefly reargued on 14 July. The plaintiff had narrowed it to Roadstone material after initially seeking documents about supplies from other quarry owners.
The plaintiff argued that Roadstone’s test results could help establish the quality of its product and what the defendants knew about it, in comparison with their own material. It relied in part on a statement of claim allegation that Irish Asphalt continued to source aggregate from Roadstone for its Ballycoolin plant despite the proximity of the Bay Lane quarry.
The non-IAL defendants disputed the relevance of Roadstone’s product to the issues at trial, which they said concerned material supplied by Irish Asphalt to the plaintiff. They also objected to the scope of the proposed category. Irish Asphalt separately argued that the request had not been properly made against it and that relevance and necessity had not been established.
The judge rejected the argument that the request was a mirror image of another discovery category. That earlier category concerned test results for materials from producers other than the defendants and could help the trial judge draw inferences about knowledge and the suitability of material associated with Bay Lane. The proposed Roadstone documents, she said, did not establish the defendants’ knowledge when supplying their own material or assist with inferences from other suppliers’ aggregate actually used at the plaintiff’s sites.
The judge also considered the plaintiff’s pleading about the decision to use Roadstone. Irish Asphalt had agreed to discover, up to 31 August 2007, documents related to its decision not to use Bay Lane aggregate at its Ballycoolin plant and to continue relying on a third party. The judge said this category encompassed documents about the decision to rely on Roadstone, including relevant test results in the company’s possession or procurement. She refused the additional category as not shown to be relevant or necessary.
On costs, the court ordered that costs up to the hearing of all four discovery motions, excluding written submissions, be costs in the cause. Irish Asphalt was awarded the hearing and written-submission costs of its motion against the plaintiff, limited to half a day. The non-IAL defendants were awarded costs of their motion against the plaintiff, including written submissions, also limited to half a day. There was no costs order on the plaintiff’s motion against the non-IAL defendants. Costs of the plaintiff’s motion against Irish Asphalt were made costs in the cause, with one day’s costs for the plaintiff if it succeeds in the action, or three days’ costs for Irish Asphalt if it succeeds. Costs of the outstanding discovery category and subsequent costs applications were also made costs in the cause.