A millionaire businessman, Lord Haughey, is involved in a legal battle over a derelict cottage adjoining his Ballyedmond Castle home on the shores of Carlingford Lough, the High Court in Belfast heard yesterday.
A garden surrounding the cottage at Killowen runs down to the shore, and the site is said to be worth in excess of £200,000.
Two brothers, Mr Guy and Mr Julian Scott-Foxwell, say they are the lawful owners of the property and are suing Lord Haughey and two of his companies, Norbrook Laboratories and Ballyedmond Castle Farms.
Lord Haughey's barrister, Mr Robert Millar, told the court: "The plaintiffs are essentially suing the defendants for trespass to lands in the proximity of Ballyedmond Castle, Co Down.
"The plaintiffs do have paper title to the property, but the defence would be that the defendants have acquired title by reason of adverse possession." The legal term covers what is commonly known as squatters' title where ownership of a property can be acquired after a period of 12 years.
The case was in next Monday's list but Lord Haughey's lawyers applied for an adjournment because the barrister briefed in the case was not available.
Mr Millar (instructed by Mr Thomas Armstrong) said it was a complex case involving the history of the property, and the barrister had been involved in extensive consultations.
Mr Michael Keogh (instructed by Donnelly, Neary and Donnelly) said the application was "most strenuously opposed". He said the hearing was originally fixed for December 13th and was brought forward to accommodate the defence.
"This is a straightforward possessory title case involving well-trodden ground and can be dealt with perfectly well by junior counsel," he said.
Mr Keogh said his clients were of fairly modest means and had considerable difficulty in financing the case, which involved coming from Scotland for consultations.
It would be grossly unfair to them to postpone the hearing because of the unavailability of senior counsel, he said.
Lord Justice Campbell refused an adjournment and told Mr Millar: "Experienced counsel like yourself can deal with it."