A COURT action aimed at compelling developer Bernard McNamara to pay €7.5 million to five fellow shareholders in a company has been resolved, the Commercial Court was told yesterday.

The case arose out of the coming together in 2004 of Mr McNamara and three businessmen, a tax consultant and a banker to acquire properties at a site adjacent to Grafton Street, Dublin, so a major commercial development could be built there.

Mr McNamara was sued by the other five arising from an option deed of September 2004 under which they claimed they granted Mr McNamara the option to require them to sell shares in a company set up to carry out the development, at a price in accordance with that deed.

The firm, Novorstan Ltd, had offices at Clanwilliam Court, Dublin. Shareholders include Mr McNamara, Ailesbury Road, Dublin 4; Gary Smith, Hazelhatch, Newcastle, Co Dublin; Ivor Dougan, Booterstown, Co Dublin; and Paschal Taggart, Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin. The other two shareholders are Terry Cooney, a tax consultant, of Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin; and Shane Taggart, a banker, with an address at Brompton Road, London.

The five claimed the minimum amount due was €7.5 million and that Mr McNamara had no bona fide defence to the claim for that amount.

Michael Cush SC, for the five, told Mr Justice Peter Kelly yesterday that, after talks, the matter had been resolved. Mr Justice Kelly agreed to list the case for mention only in a week.