Haulbowline damages of €114m sought

An English company is claiming €114 million damages against three other firms over alleged breaches of agreements to clear contaminated materials from the former Irish Steel plant site at Haulbowline Island in Co Cork.

In separate proceedings, the State is being sued over its alleged failure to pay sums of more than €8 million arising from the clean up.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly today entered the proceedings by Louis J. O’Regan Ltd, with an address at Sttafordshire, England, into the Commercial Court. He was told a further application will be made next week to transfer the action against the State to the court.

O’Regan Ltd has sued C.T.O Greenclean Environmental Solutions Ltd, with an address at Sarsfield Road, Wilton, Co Cork; Hammond Lane Metal Company Ltd, Pigeon House Road, Dublin, and Eastwood Ltd, Herbert Street, Dublin, for alleged breaches of a purported partnership agreement and written contracts of August 2007 reached between the sides for the clearance of the contaminated materials from the Haulbowline site.

O’Regan Ltd has claimed in correspondence with solicitors for Hammond Lane the State failed to inform it of the nature and quality of toxic waste on the Haulbowline site and/or the hazardous way in which that waste was stored.

The application to transfer the case to the Commercial Court was brought by Hammond Lane, which argues there is no basis for the claim against it.

Prior to the O’Regan action, Hammond Lane initiated separate proceedings against the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government over an alleged agreement under which the Minister appointed the company for the surface clean up of the demolition and waste tip areas at the Haulbowline site, formerly owned by Irish Ispat Ltd.

Hammond Lane claims it began those works in September 2007. It claims, while the Minister had paid the full amounts certified by a designated Cork County Council Engineer to the company for six valuations, he had unlawfully retained some €400,000 in relation to two other valuations and refused to pay any monies at all in relation to one further valuation.

Arsing from those failures, Hammond Lane has sued the State for almost €8.1 million and will apply next week to transfer that action to the Commercial Court.

Hammond Lane claims the Minister had in May 2008 ordered it to cease all works at the site and had days later served a notice of termination on the company.

Hammond Lane claims the works at the site commenced in September 2007 and were undertaken on its behalf by CTO Greenclean. It also claims some works were done on behalf of CTO Greenclean by O’Regan Ltd. Issues later arose over the works being carried out and a termination notice was ultimately served.