The owners of Dublin's Leopardstown racetrack have taken High Court proceedings to prevent the compulsory purchase of lands at the course for the South Eastern motorway.
Leopardstown Club Ltd claims there has been a failure to comply with part of a 1998 agreement under which the racecourse would get land in return for withdrawing objections to the motorway.
Mr Denis McDonald SC, for Leopardstown Club, said his client's legitimate expectation was that, in return for giving up part of the racecourse land, they would be given new land. If the racetrack did not get the "new" land, the integrity and amenities of its lands would be seriously compromised.
Giving leave for the track owners to bring judicial review proceedings against Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Mr Justice Kearns said he hoped the parties could come to some accommodation.
Earlier the judge asked how many racecourses had been lost in Dublin. Mr McDonald said Baldoyle and Phoenix Park courses had been lost already and Leopardstown was an unique facility.
Under the agreement reached between the parties in January 1998, Leopardstown Club had agreed to the acquisition of 7.98 hectares (19.71 acres) of its lands for the motorway.
In consideration of this, the council agreed to make other lands available to the company.
They included two parcels of lands for car parking space to compensate for the loss of parking space on the property being acquired.
It emerged in early 1999 the council might have difficulty in conveying one section of land to the company; its owner had plans for it.