The High Court awarded James O’Callaghan €404,800 in damages for severe damage to his house beside the canal at Clare Street, Limerick, caused during drainage works. Justice Hedigan apportioned liability 75% to Roadbridge Limited and 25% to Limerick City Council. The court found Murphy International Limited had no liability.
The parties agreed the house had to be demolished and rebuilt, and that reconstruction would cost €300,000. The dispute was over responsibility and the other losses claimed. Roadbridge attributed the damage chiefly to dewatering ordered by the Council’s resident engineer. The Council and Murphy argued it arose from Roadbridge’s tunnelling and connection works near the house.
The judge rejected dewatering as a main or partial cause. He preferred evidence that the cracking was inconsistent with dewatering and found the canal wall’s instability, combined with heavy machinery used close to the property, caused the damage. He divided responsibility for the damage equally between the initial tunnelling phase and the later connection works because the evidence could not establish their relative contributions more precisely.
For the tunnelling phase, the court placed responsibility entirely on Roadbridge. It found the contractor had included continuous dewatering in its method statement and had undertaken the work and its risks. For the connection works, the judge found both Roadbridge and the Council responsible in equal shares. A breakdown in their chain of command contributed to the damage, and the connection could have been carried out without damaging the house if the cofferdam had been properly secured. The resulting overall allocation was 75% to Roadbridge and 25% to the Council.
The judge dismissed the claim against Murphy, which had carried out paving works more than a year later. He accepted evidence that its equipment could not cause structural damage and that a gap had been left beside the house. He also found the paving’s slightly higher level could be resolved when the house was rebuilt.
The award comprised €300,000 for demolition and rebuilding, €64,800 for loss of use over nine years, and €40,000 for distress, inconvenience and loss of time. The court did not award separate sums for renovation costs or diminished property value because rebuilding would restore the house. It also rejected the claimed lost development opportunity, finding planning permission for the proposed townhouses would probably have been refused. Professional fees were not awarded as damages; fees connected with assessing the damage and preparing the case were treated as matters for costs in the action.
The judgment records the damages award and apportionment of liability. The supplied text does not state any additional order on costs or interest.