FORMER RALLY driver Rosemary Smith (71) was awarded €146,725 damages at the High Court yesterday arising from a dispute with businessman Albert Gubay over a deal in which she was to get an “apartment for life”.
Ms Smith was promised the apartment as part of the development by Mr Gubay’s Isle of Man-registered company, Mardown Ltd, of a Total Fitness sports science centre at Blackglen Road, Sandyford, Dublin.
Under a deal in which she sold her former home to Mardown to allow for the development of the sports centre, she was eventually to be given an apartment within the centre rent-free.
When she went to look at the single-room studio apartment, she was shocked at how small it was, she claimed. She refused to move in, put her furniture in storage and has since lived in a room in a friend’s house, paying rent.
In proceedings heard last year in the High Court, Mr Justice Liam McKechnie ruled the apartment she was offered did not have planning permission as it was meant for the use of visiting athletes to the sports centre.
The case was back before the judge yesterday to decide what level of damages should be awarded. The issue was whether she should be given a lump sum to reflect how much she would lose out by not having a rent-free apartment or whether she should be paid an annuity which could be invested and give a return for the rest of her life.
Ms Smith, the court heard, wanted to live in the Blackglen Road area where she had lived for 30 years. Counsel for Ms Smith said she wanted “nothing more” to do with Mr Gubay. The judge accepted this and said he was not satisfied to make an award based on the payment of an annuity.
Making an assessment based on the cost of renting an apartment in Blackglen Road, inclusive of projected rental increases, the judge arrived at a figure of €135,575, adding agreed claims of €11,150 for rent paid by Ms Smith to date.
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