A High Court judge has awarded a Co Meath farmer €42,000 damages after finding that a fire which totally destroyed a new tractor was caused by a defect in the electrical system in the cab of the vehicle.
Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill yesterday awarded the damages to Patrick Flynn, Enfield, Co Meath, against Dermot Kelly Ltd, a seller of farm equipment.
The case arose after Mr Flynn completed a transaction in April 1998 under which he leased a New Holland M 11 5 tractor, with a 1998 registration, at a monthly rent of €3,504.
The lease was to run until October 2002 but in June 1998 the tractor, along with two other older tractors, was destroyed by fire when parked in a field close to a silage pit.
Mr Flynn claimed the fire was caused by an electrical defect in a control panel near the driver's seat in the tractor but that claim was disputed.
In his reserved judgment yesterday, Mr Justice O'Neill said he was satisfied from evidence from experts that the fire was caused by an electrical fault in the cab of the New Holland tractor and that it had spread to the other tractors as a result of winds blowing in their direction.