A district Judge held in Cork yesterday that stage payments demanded by a builder of a purchaser were unfair in the case before him. But Judge Con O'Leary said that stage payments are not in principle unfair.

He was delivering judgment in a case in which Mr John Leahy of Mallow, Co Cork, and the Educational Building Society were being sued by builders, Kenny Homes of Limerick, for interest on late payment of staged payments under a building agreement. Kenny Homes Ltd. argued that Mr Leahy owed the company £3,952.86 in interest in respect of a contract from April 1998 where he agreed to buy a £66,500 apartment at Lios na Greine, South Douglas Road, Cork.

Justice O'Leary said he was satisfied that a clause in the contract for payment of so much of the cost, at the plastering stage, to the builders was unfair.

In this case stage payments had been loaded unfairly against the purchaser, who was being asked to pay 90 per cent of the cost before 90 per cent of the work had been completed. However, the judge said that stage payments are not unfair in principle.