The High Court has awarded Microclean Environmental Limited €100,000 against Carmel Bradley over unpaid fees for investigative work linked to oil contamination at the Bradleys’ former home in Dundalk. The award comprises €69,429 for breach of contract and €30,571 interest.
Mr Justice Cian Ferriter found that Microclean was a party to a 1997 agreement with John and Carmel Bradley. The agreement provided that the company would be paid for its work if the Bradleys’ High Court action over contamination from a neighbouring filling station succeeded. That action ended in a settlement with Texaco Ireland in April 2008, including €500,000 paid to the Bradleys.
The company sued for fees, relying on an invoice totalling €80,494, including VAT. The defendants disputed that Microclean was the contracting party, argued that the claim was outside the six-year limitation period, and challenged whether the amounts were adequately supported and reasonable. The judge rejected those defences in material part. He accepted evidence from Microclean’s owner, Gerry McDonnell, that he signed the agreement for the company, and found that the agreement made payment due after a successful conclusion of the contamination litigation.
The judge held that the claim was brought within the limitation period because the right to payment arose when the underlying action settled in April 2008. He noted that the work had been done, a point not disputed at trial. He also found the €12,000 charged for meetings reasonable and the allocation to the Bradleys fair.
However, he reduced the charge for investigations at the neighbouring garage from about €20,645 to €11,500, finding that the work also benefited other claimants on the terrace. The resulting principal award was €69,429 including VAT.
The claim against John Bradley could not proceed because he died in September 2010 and the action was issued more than two years later. The judgment was against Carmel Bradley. She had dementia and was represented in the proceedings by her daughter, Kieva Bradley, as guardian ad litem.
The judge declined to award the higher contractual interest rate, which he considered unjust in the circumstances, and said Courts Act interest was unavailable because the agreement provided for interest. He instead awarded €30,571 under the Late Payment Regulations, taking account of the delay in bringing the case and the time it took to reach trial. The order was for €100,000 in total.