A FAMILY who claimed nearby roadworks made their bungalow so structurally unsafe they had to leave it have settled their High Court action.
Meath County Council and Manning Brothers Contractors had denied claims by Brian and Suzanne Jordan that their home at The White House, Kiltale, Dunsany, Co Meath, was damaged due to vibrations from road works.
The contractors pleaded the damage was a result of subsidence caused by leaking drains around the house.
The couple and their two children left their home in November 2004 after cracks appeared in the walls, ceiling, floors and roof. The house was eventually demolished and a new house built on the site.
The couple claimed the damage to the house’s foundations was caused by vibrations from machinery used for improvement and widening works to the Scurloughstown to Kiltale road.
They sued Meath Co Council and Manning Brothers Contractors, Ballagh, Newtownforbes, Co Longford, who carried out the works for the council. Both defendants denied the claims.
Yesterday, Ms Justice Mary Laffoy was told by Jonathan Kilfeather, for the couple, that the action had been resolved. No terms of the settlement were revealed.
The Jordans claimed the defendants were negligent while carrying out the roadworks in October 2004.
They also claimed the works caused extensive structural damage to their house, making it uninhabitable.
John Gibbons, for the Jordans, said while it was accepted that an investigation of the house had revealed the subfloor was defective, it was their case that the damage was caused by vibrations from the machinery used for the roadworks.
Repairing the house was not an option and they had to demolish it and build a new house on the site of their old home, counsel said.