Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has secured an interim High Court injunction preventing an arbitrator from proceeding with the hearing of a €116.82 million claim for compensation by Jackson Way Properties Ltd (JWPL). The claim relates to lands at Carrickmines, Co Dublin.
The council said it had asked the arbitrator to defer hearing the compensation claim until the Flood tribunal concluded its investigation into the legality and validity of the rezoning of the JWPL lands.
JWPL had bought 106 acres of land in Carrickmines which, under council plans, will be bisected by the new South Eastern motorway. The arbitrator, Mr John Shackleton, had fixed next Monday to hear JWPL's claim for compensation of between €92.69 million and €116.82 (£92 million) - the largest taken against the council.
However, Mr Justice Lavan yesterday granted a temporary order restraining the arbitration hearing taking place until after Monday.
In an affidavit, Mr Edward Hughes, solicitor for the council, said it had asked the arbitrator last November to defer consideration of the JWPL claim until the Flood tribunal's investigation into the rezoning was completed.
Mr Hughes said the tribunal had requested information and documentation on the JWPL lands rezoning on November 2nd.
He referred to a transcript of the Flood tribunal hearings on a letter the tribunal wrote to solicitors for a Mr John Caldwell. In it the tribunal stated it had received information that substantial monies were paid "to elected members of the Dublin County Council by and on behalf of Paisley Park Investments Ltd and/or JWPL for the purpose of securing the rezoning of lands at Carrickmines".
Mr Hughes said the Flood tribunal was investigating the legality and validity of the rezoning of the JWPL lands which were bisected by the motorway. About 22 acres had been acquired for the highway and JWPL had retained about 60 acres to the south and 24 acres to the north.
Under a 1993 county development plan all the JWPL lands were zoned to provide "for the development of agriculture".Under the current 1998 plan, the northern lands were zoned for "industrial and related uses" and the southern lands remained for the development of agriculture.
Last September the council took over JWPL lands for the motorway. Mr Hughes said its construction was estimated at €165 million (£130 million) with land costs of €441.41 million.
He said the reference to elected members of Dublin County Council also included the elected members of the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown council as its successor.
Mr Hughes said it was a matter of public record that rezonings found to have been improperly procured might be revoked by the introduction of appropriate legislation. He referred to a statement the Taoiseach made on May 16th last.
The Flood tribunal was investigating the legality and validity of the rezoning of the JWPL lands. That rezoning fundamentally altered and beneficially affected the level of compensation claimed and to be decided in favour of JWPL, he said.
It appeared, from the council's inquiries and the work of the tribunal, that the beneficial owners of JWPL were companies registered outside the State in the Isle of Man, Panama and the British Virgin Islands, Mr Hughes added.
If the tribunal found that the rezoning was improperly procured, it would be "difficult, if not impossible to recover compensation that the council would have been obliged to pay JWPL on foot of an award improperly procured", Mr Hughes said.