Dianne Willmore, who passed from mesothelioma in 2009, won a landmark £240,000 case, holding Knowsley Borough Council liable for her asbestos exposure during school. Her case prompted legal and financial ramifications for local authorities nationwide, leading to increased awareness and changes in asbestos-related negligence proceedings.
Shane Flynn, 35, owner of a Mullingar clinic, was convicted of sexual assault after inappropriately touching a client seeking back pain relief. The investigation also revealed 18 hours of footage showing Flynn secretly filming 35 women during massages, raising further concerns about his conduct and abuse of trust within his practice.
Naveed Rana, a Dublin taxi driver, was sentenced to five and a half years for the assault of an 18-year-old woman after a night out. The court heard how Rana took advantage of the victim’s trust, driving erratically and assaulting her before being apprehended due to her quick actions in reporting the incident to Gardaí.
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Families in Donegal have been forced to quit their dream homes due to poor construction that has caused the structures to crack and deteriorate, leaving them unusable. Our team has been assisting families affected by this scandal.
Here is a message from Dave Coleman (Managing Partner) discussing how anyone affected by defective blocks can contact “Coleman Legal LLP” to discuss their options for seeking compensation.
A very large number of people who have suffered property damage in County Donegal due to the use of defective construction products in the construction of their properties have come together to take a case against all of the parties responsible for the fact that this was allowed to occur with little or no supervision. The case seeks damages from the following parties
Please fill in your details below to request information from Coleman Legal LLP. Our team is ready to advise families in Donegal County affected by the defective block scandal. Kindly complete the contact form or email us at [email protected].
If you wish to join the Group Litigation, please follow these steps:
Once we receive your consent to issue proceedings on your behalf, we will go ahead and issue and serve the plenary summons. After that, we will await the outcome of the lead cases.
Initially, there was no charge for individual property owners to join the case, and it was intended that the numbers in the case would be limited. Rather than closing off the number of members who could join the group, we have left the door open for anyone who wishes to join.
However, as of 7 July 2023, there is now a once-off charge of €500.00 for new applicants. This will cover outlays such as stamp duty and any administrative expenses that may arise.
We will also provide a letter regarding costs to each applicant who joins the group. We will charge a modest fee on the successful conclusion of the case. Due to the complex nature of the group litigation, we can’t confirm what that fee will be at this stage. However, we have set out an estimated basis for our charges in our Section 150 Costs Letter. This will cover our costs for the work involved in resolving each case individually.
No. All extra costs, such as expert witness fees, the costs of the legal team involved in research and litigation/discovery, testing fees for the lead case, etc., are being met on a ‘Not For Profit’ basis.
As set out above, we will only be able to charge you over and above the initial registration fee (if applicable) on the successful outcome of your claim. At that stage, we will only ask for a modest payment towards our legal fees and the costs involved in getting you to pay through whatever channel is decided. Should the case be unsuccessful, we will not charge you any additional fee towards the legal costs.
Whatever your circumstances, there is only a limited amount of time in which you can take Court Action to vindicate your rights. This is due to the law known as the Statute of Limitations. The only way to stop time defeating your right to sue those responsible is by issuing a Court Summons against those responsible. The advantage of joining the group litigation is that you will not be subjected to the usual costs, stress and burden of once-off litigation. You can allow the lead cases to take that burden for you.
As you know, no litigation is quick. However, the plan is to ask the Commercial Division of the High Court in Dublin to accept the Lead/Pathfinder cases into the Commercial Court. This has been done successfully before. The benefit to the Court System is that it does not have to repeatedly deal with the same queries, Court Applications, etc. This greatly reduces the strain a case such as this would place on the court system.
All cases are unique to the individual. However, if you have suffered a psychological or physical injury and have the support of your medical advisers, you may be able to seek compensation for your injury.
No. The larger the number of people joining the case, the better for all. As in all cases, it is up to the Solicitors to guide the case through the courts and ensure that all of the participants are fully and properly represented. In the meantime, it has been agreed that all other group cases will effectively be on hold. This is a significant achievement because, once a summons has been issued in the High Court and served on each of the Defendants, no other steps in the litigation will occur pending the outcome of the lead cases.
Following much negotiation with the other parties, it has also been agreed that the normal costly and time-consuming rules for physical service can be dispensed and that summonses can be served electronically. The Defendants have also agreed that they will not come on record or take any active steps, which eliminates the costs risk for the Plaintiffs such as yourself, should the lead cases be unsuccessful. If the lead cases go to trial, the Decision of the Lead cases will be binding on those in the group. Similarly, if the lead cases are settled, any Settlement or Redress Scheme will apply to the members of the case.
Unfortunately, due to the General Data Protection Regulations, we can only take advice from the owner of the property, unless they provide us with written formal consent allowing someone to provide us with instructions on their behalf. Likewise, legal proceedings can only be brought in the name of the owner of the property (either a person or a registered company).
Please note that the Defective Blocks Grant Scheme is a State initiative separate from the Defective Blocks group litigation. The State has been very clear that it will not provide a redress scheme. Whether or not you apply for the Grant Scheme is a matter for yourself. Unfortunately, we are not able to advise on its terms, and any questions you have about that would be best addressed directly to Donegal County Council or the Housing Agency.
However, you should be aware that a plaintiff has a duty to “mitigate their losses”, or, in other words, to make their best efforts to recover their losses other than through litigation. With regard to the Defective Blocks Group Litigation, the Plaintiff should make their best efforts to apply for the Grant Scheme.
Any amount ultimately received by you under the Grant Scheme will be deducted from the overall value of your litigation claim. This includes interim payments under the Grant Scheme, such as accommodation funding or reimbursement of engineers’ fees for reports submitted. Therefore, in the group litigation, you will claim your net losses with any other personal losses you have incurred. Likewise, legal proceedings can only be brought in the property owner’s name (either a person or a registered company).
These lead cases are being case managed by the Commercial Division of the High Court and / or by way of a series of agreements which have been negotiated between the parties. This involves a strict timetable during which all of the court documents or “pleadings” must be exchanged. In this way, the cases will move much faster than would be usual in litigation. The timetable also allows for the testing of the quarry as well as the testing of individual homes of the Lead Plaintiffs.
Once all of the pleadings have been exchanged, a process of “Discovery” will then occur where the parties will request and exchange documents which it is believed are necessary to be provided by each party to allow for the fair and cost effective trial of the cases. Once the Discovery process is over, the Lead cases can then proceed to trial.
From within the large group, six individuals, each with different circumstances, have agreed to act as representatives for the rest of the group and to act as lead or “pathfinder” cases. The circumstances of these lead cases are such that the issues within them generally describe the conditions that apply to most property owners in Donegal.
In the meantime, it has been agreed that all of the other cases within the group will effectively be on hold. This is a significant achievement because, once a summons has been issued in the High Court and served on each of the Defendants, no other steps in the litigation will occur pending the outcome of the lead cases.
Following much negotiation with the other parties, it has also been agreed that the normal costly and time consuming rules for physical service can be dispensed with and that summonses can be served electronically. The Defendants have also agreed that they will not come on record or take any active steps, which eliminates the costs risk for the Plaintiffs such as yourself, should the lead cases be unsuccessful.
If the lead cases go to trial, the Decision of the Lead cases will be binding on those in the group. Similarly, if the lead cases are settled, any Settlement or Redress Scheme will apply to the members of the case.
We would suggest issuing proceedings in the name of the Personal Representative of the late owner’s estate if the property is still in their name pending the outcome of the probate. We could then also take instructions from the Personal Representative (or an authorised nominee on their behalf).
However, you may wish to take advice from the probate solicitor with regard to any tax implications or otherwise that any potential compensation settlement may have as we are unfortunately not in a position to advise on that aspect.
There are many types of properties which are not eligible for a grant under the state Grant Scheme, such as commercial buildings, multi-unit buildings, holiday homes, farm buildings, even buildings that surround a family home such as a garage or outhouse.
The purpose of the litigation is to achieve compensation for anyone who has suffered (or will suffer) loss as a result of the use of defective concrete products and there is no such arbitrary restriction on the type of property which can be included as part of the group litigation.
These lead cases are being case managed by the Commercial Division of the High Court and / or by way of a series of agreements which have been negotiated between the parties. This involves a strict timetable during which all of the court documents or “pleadings” must be exchanged. In this way, the cases will move much faster than would be usual in litigation. The timetable also allows for the testing of the quarry as well as the testing of individual homes of the Lead Plaintiffs.
Once all of the pleadings have been exchanged, a process of “Discovery” will then occur where the parties will request and exchange documents which it is believed are necessary to be provided by each party to allow for the fair and cost effective trial of the cases. Once the Discovery process is over, the Lead cases can then proceed to trial.
There is no requirement for you to obtain an engineer’s report in advance of registering for the Group Litigation. If you are confident that the construction products were supplied by Cassidy Brothers and it appears that your house has or may be affected as a result of defective concrete products, please proceed to register. Assuming that there is a successful outcome of the lead cases progressing through the High Court, we will address how best to quantify your losses when the time comes.
It remains to be seen whether, if and when these cases are resolved, an engineer’s report will be required to establish liability. However, if you have obtained an engineer’s report, please feel free to send on a copy of any report and test results to us. If and when the time comes, it will assist to have your reports on file.
This process is completely separate to the group litigation and it is hoped that a strong complaint against the Irish State may put pressure on the government to attempt to resolve the matter. The Complaint itself highlights the failure of the State to monitor the production of construction products which allowed for the disastrous situation in Donegal to occur.
If you have a mortgage on your home, we would be grateful for any information or correspondence you might have from your bank in relation to any difficulty in which you have found yourself with them. For example, perhaps you have tried to engage with the bank regarding repayments on your mortgage or obtaining consent for demolition of your home.
Likewise, if you have had any issues with securing insurance on your home or property, this information may be of assistance to our own enquiries in the context of the Group Litigation.
We would appreciate if you could email us any information that you think might be relevant. We regret that we are not in a position to advise on specific cases as it will be individual to the terms of your mortgage conditions and / or insurance policy.
