By Eoin Marsh
The High Court has ordered the removal of a lis pendens registered over Wynnstay House after finding that proceedings brought by Greg Kavanagh and Greg Kavanagh Dev Co Limited were not prosecuted with the expedition required when a property is subject to such a registration.
The dispute concerns Wynnstay House, owned by Ballycrag Developments Limited, which is in receivership. The litigation arose from a January 2023 settlement agreement under which payments were to be made and the property sold to Greg Kavanagh Dev Co Limited. After further disputes, including over VAT, fresh proceedings were issued on 18 January 2024 seeking specific performance and a declaration that €2 million inclusive of VAT was due under the proposed sale.
The plaintiffs then registered a lis pendens, which is a formal notice indicating that litigation may affect title to a property.
Receiver John Healy applied to have it removed, arguing that the plaintiffs had failed to progress the case. Ms Justice Bolger noted that their statement of claim was not filed until February 2026, about 25 months after the proceedings began and four months after the receiver issued the present motion.
The plaintiffs said periods of delay were justified by engagement between the parties. The judge accepted that the defendants contributed to some delay, including taking about four months to enter an appearance, but found that responsibility for most of the delay lay with the plaintiffs and was largely unexplained.
The court therefore ordered the lis pendens to be vacated.
The receiver also sought security for costs against Greg Kavanagh Dev Co Limited. That application was refused. The judge said unchallenged evidence from Greg Kavanagh concerning his ability to fund the litigation meant inability to pay had not been established. She also considered the presence of an individual co-plaintiff a special circumstance weighing against security.
Final costs orders were left for a later hearing.