The High Court has ordered the removal of three lis pendens registered over development properties in Blackrock, Ranelagh and Crumlin, finding that the notices were used to pressure the defendants into paying money to the plaintiffs.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Brian O’Moore on 5 October 2021, concerned a defendants’ motion to vacate notices registered when Johnny O’Loughlin and Mount Pleasant Development Limited began proceedings in April 2021. The properties were the former Europa Motors premises at Newtown Avenue, Blackrock; a property at Annesley Gardens, Ranelagh; and a development site known as The Glebe, on St Agnes Road, Crumlin.
The plaintiffs’ pleaded case was that they had a joint venture with Michael Moran and related companies to develop and sell properties. They alleged that proceeds from earlier projects were used to acquire Annesley and The Glebe, and that profits due to them were used to buy the Europa site. They claimed losses of just under €5 million and sought, among other reliefs, declarations that they had interests in the three properties and that they were held on trust for them. Those claims were not decided on this motion.
The defendants argued that the plaintiffs had no estate or interest in the properties and that the notices were registered to gain commercial leverage. The judge did not determine the defendants’ alternative argument that the plaintiffs had failed to make a stateable case for a property interest. He said that issue would not need to be decided because the motion succeeded on the defendants’ separate argument about the purpose of registering the notices.
The court accepted Michael Moran’s uncontradicted evidence that the notices were intended to pressure the defendants into making a deal. The judgment referred to a 10 March 2021 email from O’Loughlin threatening to register notices over the three sites if the defendants did not engage on outstanding project costs and profit sharing. The judge found that the plaintiffs knew registration would disrupt the defendants’ development plans, and that the notices caused significant harm to the Crumlin and Ranelagh projects.
The court concluded that registering each notice was an improper step in the proceedings and was not done bona fide. It therefore ordered all three lis pendens vacated under section 123 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009. The order dealt with the notices only; it did not resolve the underlying dispute over money or decide whether the plaintiffs have a proprietary interest in any of the sites.