A major house developer has denied it acted with "callous disregard" to the plight of a couple who found themselves with double mortgages they could not afford.
Radio presenter Dave Moore and his wife Tracey Sheridan have claimed in the Circuit Civil Court that Menolly Homes reneged on an agreement to rent one of the houses for €1,700 a month.
They have asked Judge Jacqueline Linnane to give them an order directing the company to honour a year-long rental agreement regarding their first home in Drynam Hall estate, Kinsealy, Dublin, after defects had been discovered in the foundations.
Mr Moore, who co-hosts 98 FM's Morning Crew programme, and Ms Sheridan bought a second home in Wendall Avenue, Portmarnock, on the strength of an oral agreement whereby Menolly Homes would rent 9 Drynam Walk while remedial work was carried out to it and other houses in the estate.
When it came to signing the written agreement, they were unable to do so because it included a clause waiving their rights to seek compensation for any loss suffered as a result of the defects.
Albert O'Loughlin, Menolly Homes financial controller, told Colm Condon SC, for the company, that the firm was anxious to assist the owners of affected houses in Drynam Hall and had made it clear it was prepared to undertake remedial work at its own expense.
Houses in the estate had experienced problems due to the presence of excessive levels of pyrite in aggregate infill used under concrete floor slabs in the houses. It had caused cracking and the company had agreed to remove floor slabs and excavate the infill.
Menolly Homes has lodged a High Court claim for €18 million damages against Irish Asphalt and the Lagan Group which supplied the infill. Remedial work has had to be carried out to hundreds of houses in Drynam Hall, at Beaupark, Clongriffin, and at Myrtle, Baldoyle, all in north Co Dublin.
Mr O'Loughlin told Mr Condon the plaintiffs wanted Menolly to do the remedial work but were not prepared to enter into an agreement which defined the homeowners' entitlements within what Menolly believed were fair and reasonable parameters.
Mr O'Loughlin said the proposed rental agreement had been discussed but no agreement had been reached.
It had been made clear to Mr Moore and his wife that any agreement for a letting was premised on their executing an agreement concerning the carrying out of remedial works.
He said Mr Moore had told him he was not interested in the "vast amounts" of compensation being talked about by other householders. He was merely interested in getting his house fixed and moving on with his life.
Cross-examined by Paul Gardiner SC, for the couple, Mr O'Loughlin denied the company had acted in callous disregard of the plight Mr Moore and Ms Sheridan now found themselves.
The couple have claimed Menolly wanted them to sign a rental agreement in association with a remedial works agreement which contained a clause waiving all their rights towards seeking compensation for loss and damage. This they had been unable to do.
They were now unable to meet the mortgage repayments on both properties.
Judge Linnane will hear legal submissions today.