DLR Properties Ltd, a company wholly owned by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, has officially withdrawn a defamation and slander of title claim against Johnny Ronan’s real estate firm, as revealed in the High Court last Friday. The council-owned firm has agreed to foot the bill for the legal expenses accrued by RGRE Devco 4 Ltd and Ronan Group Real Estate Ltd in connection with these aspects of a broader case centring around a proposed €35 million office development in Cherrywood, south Dublin.
Elizabeth Corcoran, DLR Properties’ barrister, confirmed that the remaining issues in the dispute are already in the advanced stages of resolution through arbitration. The judgments made by Mr Justice Brian Cregan were in line with the requests made by both sides in the dispute.
Last June, DLR Properties commenced legal proceedings, seeking court ratification that a 2019 development agreement between the two parties was effectively dissolved due to RGRE’s breaches.
DLR Properties accused RGRE of failing to commence necessary operations for the construction of the proposed Cherrywood office block in violation of the 2019 agreement. These accusations were strongly disputed by the RGRE firms, contending that DLR Properties’ claims were unfounded and “without merit.”
The discontinued defamation and slander of title claim by DLR Properties pertained to alleged statements on the Ronan Group’s website that seemed to imply or state that they had a legal or equitable title or interest in the projected Cherrywood office site. They sought corrections and restrictions on further such publications.
This part of the case was scheduled for hearing in December, however, the hearing has been cancelled as indicated by Ms Corcoran. Stephen Walsh, the barrister representing the RGRE firms, stated that DLR’s decision to back down validates his clients’ stance.
