THE 18TH Baron Inchiquin, head of the O’Brien clan, has been awarded €7.9 million in damages against an insolvent company controlled by businessman Denis O’Brien over its repudiation of an agreement for the sale of lands at Dromoland estate in Co Clare.
The lands were valued at €11 million in 2006 and are now valued at €3.2 million. They are separate to Dromoland Castle, which is on adjoining lands.
At the Commercial Court yesterday, Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan said she was satisfied to award damages to Conor Myles John O’Brien, Thomond House, Dromoland, against Trinity Property Holdings Ltd.
Trinity Property did not defend the action. The court heard 65 per cent of the shareholding of Trinity Property Holdings is controlled by Denis O’Brien and the company’s directors had on April 8th last passed a winding-up resolution.
The case arose from a proposal, following alleged talks in 2006 between Denis O’Brien and Baron Inchiquin, that Trinity Property would buy 377 acres of the 600- acre estate with a view to developing a five-star hotel, convention centre, golf course and club, and five-star housing on the lands.
Under option agreements allegedly made on November 22nd, 2006, Baron Inchiquin claimed he granted Trinity Property an option to buy lands at Dromoland estate for €9.59 million, to be exercised by February 28th, 2007. Subject to that option being exercised, he claimed he granted Trinity Property a second option to buy other lands for some €1.46 million.
It was claimed Trinity Property exercised the first option on February 28th, 2007, and the second option on November 21st, 2007, but failed to complete the purchase of either property. Trinity Property had later unlawfully repudiated the option agreements, it was claimed.
Baron Inchiquin, who inherited the estate in 1982, had “never for one second” believed, when starting discussions with Mr O’Brien in April 2006, that he “would end up being treated in such a cavalier and disdainful manner by such a prominent and fellow member of the O’Brien clan”.
Dromoland estate had been cleared of tenants and livestock in anticipation that the sale would be completed and it remained locked up “for the first time in its proud 1,000-year-old history”, he claimed. It was “heartbreaking” to see the estate go to seed and it could take up to two years to restore the land before it could be leased again, he added.
Baron Inchiquin also said he had, due to lack of business, to close down a guesthouse run by his family from 1984, which had taken overflow from Dromoland Castle. He had a home in Clare and a rented property in Dublin, but the banks were “baying at our heels”.
Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan said she was satisfied there was a binding agreement between the sides which was enforceable against the defendant company.
She accepted that Baron Inchiquin was ready and willing to proceed with the proposed sale and was entitled to damages in lieu of specific performance of the contract following Trinity Property’s decision to go into liquidation.
The judge accepted a valuer’s evidence that the land was valued at €11 million in 2006, less the €100,000 deposit paid by Trinity Property Holdings, and its current value was some €3.2 million.
She ruled that the baron was entitled to damages of €7.9 million, including special damages of more than €240,000 for loss of income and costs of restoration of the lands which, the court heard, had been effectively locked up since 2006.
On Monday, counsel for Trinity Property sought to adjourn the case on grounds the company was to be wound up and would not be defending the case. The adjournment was refused by the judge due to lateness of the application.