The High Court awarded Anthony and Teresa Casey €40,000 after finding that a development road near Delgany, County Wicklow, was wrongly sited through their land because of the defendants’ mapping and planning work.
In a judgment delivered on 20 May 2010, Mr Justice Charleton found that Ciaran Dowdall and Dónal Spring were responsible for the road’s alignment. The Caseys had built it in accordance with the planning permission map submitted on the defendants’ behalf and with later guidance from their agent, the judge said.
The Caseys had sought specific performance of a 1998 agreement to convey a site on which their house had been built, as well as damages for breach of contract and the road’s additional construction costs. The court declined to order conveyance of the original site. Instead, it said the Caseys should receive the site as they occupied it, as mapped in 2010 by surveyor Gerry Castell, and that the parties should make the necessary arrangements.
The judge found that the road had cost markedly more than the £42,000 contemplated by the road agreement. He assessed the excess at €25,000. He also awarded €15,000 in damages, finding the Caseys were not at fault for the distortion of their site and taking account of the defendants’ view of responsibility and mistakes identified in the judgment. The two awards made up the €40,000 judgment.
The dispute arose after the road was built across part of the Casey site. A 2003 survey first showed the extent of the intrusion. The judge rejected the defendants’ claim that the Caseys were solely responsible for the road’s position. He also found that a fence on neighbouring land had been put up by neighbour Mr Shortt, rather than the Caseys, and that no agreement had been reached in settlement discussions.
The court adjourned the matter for two weeks so conveyancing papers could be prepared and executed. It said the case would return to the judge to ensure the matter had been satisfactorily concluded.