ESB flood claims flow north from Cork

ESB needs a few sandbags for its legal department. The steady flow of lawsuits against it, alleging its actions exacerbated the floods of November 2009, has turned into a raging torrent that is spreading across the State.

As reported in The Irish Times on Monday, the statute of limitations for court claims ran out yesterday. ESB was recently found by the High Court to be 60 per cent liable for the €20 million in flood damage to UCC, because the power company opened a dam. It is appealing the claim.

There was an estimated €90 million in damage done to the city that night. By last weekend, about 150 people in Cork had lodged flood claims against ESB. Many are represented by local Cork law firms.

This week, one of the big beasts in corporate law arrived on the scene. Matheson, among others, filed hundreds more claims before the six-year cut-off. It is picking up flooding clients all along the river Shannon, upon which sit three ESB hydroelectric facilities.

Among the latest claimants against ESB are individuals and businesses from Westmeath, Roscommon, Limerick and Leitrim. They include Cineplex Paradiso, a cinema in Carrick-on-Shannon that shut for five months after the floods. Gallico, the developer of Athlone Town Centre and the town’s Radisson Blu hotel, also filed a case.

The Samaritans in Cork, whose office* was under three feet of water, and the local office of the National Council for the Blind are among those claiming. There are now at least 300 cases against ESB. Its bean counters must be in floods of tears.

*This article was amended on 21/11/15 at 5.25pm.