The High Court has dismissed a claim by property developers Tom O’Driscoll and Seamus Dunne over property transactions with farmers Larry, Deirdre and Barney McDonald, finding that the plaintiffs had not proved the alleged breaches caused them a financial loss. It awarded Mr Dunne €10,000 for intimidation and trespass connected with a debt recovery agency engaged by Larry McDonald.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Noonan on 13 July 2017, concerned a house and agricultural land at Ballyroan, County Laois. The plaintiffs said the defendants breached caretaker agreements by failing to give up possession and maintain the house. They also claimed that the defendants’ conduct cost them a proposed €3 million resale deal with developer Rolan Homes Ltd.
The judge found that the plaintiffs’ account of losing the Rolan deal because of delayed possession lacked credibility. The proposed contract had not been signed, and the court found no correspondence about it after November 2006. The plaintiffs did not demand possession urgently when the initial caretaker period ended, and the court found they had agreed that the defendants could remain in occupation while a further payment was outstanding. The plaintiffs had agreed to pay Larry McDonald €350,000 in 2007 to replace their obligation to build three houses, but did not pay it in full. They had paid €30,000, leaving €320,000 unpaid.
The court also found no evidence establishing the cost of repairs to the house. It concluded that the plaintiffs had not shown actual loss from any breach of the caretaker agreements, so that part of their claim failed. The judge said the €3 million claim had not been precluded by an earlier judgment, but noted it had not been included in the pleadings in this case.
Separately, Mr Dunne sought damages over visits to his home and electrical wholesale business in Kilkenny by a woman and two men working for the debt recovery agency. The judge accepted evidence that they visited repeatedly, blocked the entrance to his home on one occasion, and refused to leave his business when asked. The court described the conduct as intimidation and found that the visits and watching of the premises amounted to trespass and unlawful conduct. It noted that Gardaí interviewed Mr McDonald and advised him to stop the agency’s actions, but the conduct continued for a time.
Mr Justice Noonan awarded Mr Dunne €10,000 in general damages for the intimidation and unlawful conduct. The judgment does not award damages to Mr Dunne’s wife, who was not a plaintiff in the proceedings.