Mr Justice Feargus Flood may have fared well in his High Court battles against Liam Lawlor and other tribunal witnesses. But a group of north Dublin residents has scored a notable legal victory over the tribunal chairman in an altogether different matter.
The High Court has awarded costs estimated at up to £100,000 to the residents who took a case against Mr Justice Flood in his role as chairman of Sutton Park School, and other members of the board.
The case arose from a dispute over an all-weather hockey pitch which the exclusive private school rented out to a soccer league. Local people with houses overlooking the school complained about the foul language and antisocial behaviour of the soccer players and said the use of the floodlights until 11 p.m. each evening created a nuisance.
After numerous letters and a petition failed to get the school to restrict the use of the pitch, the residents took High Court proceedings. With school fees of £3,600 a year, Sutton Park is one of the most expensive private schools in the State. Larry Mullen of U2 and John McColgan of Riverdance fame send their children there.
Residents first wrote to the tribunal chairman about the problem in November 2000. They said the change of use had become "a nightmare", and the floodlighting was causing a nuisance. They also complained about the vulgar language used by the soccer players and an incident in which a referee urinated off the pitch, in full view.
During the proceedings it emerged that the floodlights were an unauthorised structure and the renting out of the pitch was an unauthorised use of the land.
Planning permission for the lights was granted in 1990 and expired five years later. However, the installation of the lights was completed only in 1997. Meanwhile, the pitch was rented out to the soccer league for an annual £70,000.
The High Court has agreed to an adjournment of the case on strict conditions. The school agreed to apply for retention of the floodlights by the end of January. It undertook not to use the pitch for anything other than hockey until this application was dealt with.
Effectively, the school will have to apply for a change of use of the development from school use to full commercial use, an application the residents are certain to oppose.
The court awarded full costs to the residents. The case was heard on November 15th, but received no publicity, ironically because this was the afternoon of the Iran-Ireland soccer international.
Mr Justice Flood declined to comment on the case yesterday. However, it is understood the school has applied for retention of the floodlights.
