A conflict over a Cherrywood office project in south Dublin, worth €35 million, involving businesses from the Johnny Ronan group has been escalated to arbitration by the High Court president. The instigator, DLR Properties Ltd, has initiated proceedings against RGRE Devco 4 Ltd (RGRE 4) and Ronan Group Real Estate Ltd demanding confirmation that the development contract in question was lawfully terminated due to violations by the accused parties.
DLR, a fully-controlled subsidiary of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Council, is also pursuing compensation for supposed defamation and title slander, related to comments on the Ronan Group’s website, suggesting or implying the accused have a legal or justifiable claim or interest over the intended office site.
Mr Justice David Barniville, on Tuesday, assigned an arbitrator to handle every aspect of the case, except for the alleged defamation and title slander, acting on a request from Marcus Dowling SC, representing DLR. According to Mr Dowling, both sides had essentially agreed for the main elements of the fallout to be arbitrated.
The proposed site for the office construction spans 1.3 acres within a larger 13.3 acre land in Cherrywood, of which 12 acres are allocated for town centre development. DLR states that in May 2019, an agreement was reached where it would transfer the 12-acre portion to RGRE 4. In return, the latter was obliged to erect a 145,000 sq ft office building on the remaining 1.3 acres, an endeavour worth over €35 million as of 2019.
DLR, presently attempting to vend the office site, alleges that the accused violated this obligation and issued misleading remarks that may cause substantial apprehension among potential buyers, and potentially disrupt or postpone any sale. The defendants strongly reject these allegations.