Dunne rejects Warren's view of site valuation

Property developer Sean Dunne has told the High Court that only someone with a degree from "the Walter Mitty school of business" could think he would sell his stake in the site of the Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge for €37.5 million when the completed centre would be sold at a minimum price of €175 million.

Nobody "in their right mind", no matter what degrees they had from "the Walter Mitty school of business", could think there was a binding contract to sell his 50 per cent stake in the centre to businessman Kevin Warren for €37.5 million, Mr Dunne said. A land sale contract and a "put and call" option signed by him on July 22nd could only be binding subject to completion of a development agreement, he said.

Mr Dunne said he believed his side had validly extended the put-and-call agreement, under which either party could terminate the deal, up to September 9th, 2005. He had decided to end negotiations on the deal in September because he believed it was taking too long to complete and too many issues remained unresolved.

There was "a chasm between us as wide as the Grand Canyon", he said. "The deal was getting longer and growing legs. I took the view I was wasting my time and everybody else was wasting their time." The cross-examination of Mr Dunne continued yesterday on the fourth day of his action against Mr Warren over the purported sale of his stake in the Whitewater centre.

Mr Dunne, of Merrion Square, Dublin, claims the purported sale of his stake on July 21st, 2005, to Mr Warren, of Northumberland Road, Dublin, is in breach of an agreement that the sale would not be completed until a development agreement had been executed by both parties. Mr Dunne claims it was understood by both parties that the €37.5 million figure was only part of an overall figure to be agreed under a development agreement to be negotiated by the two sides.

The developer, who recently purchased Jury's Hotel and other sites in Ballsbridge, is seeking a declaration from the court that no binding agreement was reached between himself and Mr Warren for the sale of his 50 per cent stake.

Mr Warren has denied Mr Dunne's claims and claims Mr Dunne agreed to sell his stake for €37.5 million and that a €100 deposit paid on August 31st 2005 secured the deal. Mr Warren also claims there is a binding contract between Mr Dunne and himself for the sale of the former's stake, which alleged contract was agreed in a written memorandum of agreement made on July 21st, 2005. He contends Mr Dunne has refused to complete the sale and is acting in breach of contract.

The court has heard Mr Dunne was the owner of 50 per cent of lands at Moorfield and Kilbelin in Newbridge, Co Kildare, where the Whitewater centre is now situated. Seán Mulryan owned the other 50 per cent interest.

Yesterday, Dermot Gleeson SC, for Mr Warren, asked Mr Dunne how he had no recollection of what he was doing on the afternoon on August 30th, 2005, when he had not attended a scheduled meeting with Mr Warren.

Mr Gleeson asked how was it that Mr Dunne appeared to recollect events after 6.30pm that day but not what he was doing around 4.30pm, when the meeting with Mr Warren was due to begin.

Mr Dunne said he had examined his own and his secretary's diaries and his phone records but they didn't disclose his whereabouts that afternoon. He had spoken to another person who confirmed he was at a 6.30pm meeting. He was very busy that week and had at least six meetings about the Jury's sale. He had no recollection of where he was that afternoon of the 30th or who he was with. It was "a complete blank". He denied not turning up for the meeting in order to exert pressure on Mr Warren.

He agreed he had received the first draft of the development agreement on July 28th. He said he would not say that it was either good nor bad for Mr Warren's solicitors to have produced the agreement by then. With a deadline of August 11th, "it doesn't get any medals", he said.

The paperwork relating to his purchase of the Jury's Hotel site in Ballsbridge, a deal which was "ten times more complicated" than Whitewater, was completed within four days, he said.

Mr Dunne said he had also "on instinct" instructed his solicitor to send back to Mr Warren a deposit of €100 paid in relation to the Whitewater deal, even though he wanted the deal to go ahead at that stage.

"I said to myself where is he going with €100 for a 220 million deal," he said. He agreed the amount was "small change" and regarded it as "completely irrelevant".

The cross-examination of Mr Dunne concluded yesterday and the case before Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan resumes on Tuesday.