CORK ACCOUNTANT Finbarr Buckley and former K Club director of golf Paul Crowe have been ordered by a judge to pay the Ryder Cup resort almost €18,000 in service charge arrears.
Mr Crowe, also an accountant, of Oyster Circle, Oyster Point, Temple Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin, told the Circuit Civil Court that he and Mr Buckley, a chartered accountant of Lapps Quay, Cork, had bought an apartment in the Ryder Cup Village at the K Club in 2004.
They felt it would be a good personal investment for both of them and had paid €850,000 for the two-bed apartment. They had also paid a year’s service charge in advance.
Circuit Court president Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard the two accountants had failed to pay any service charges from 2006 until 2009 to Bessilton Holdings Ltd and Karsavina Management Ltd which run the K Club at Straffan, Co Kildare.
Mr Crowe told barrister James Phillips, counsel for the K Club management companies, that neither he or Mr Buckley had never been invoiced for the service charges so had not gone chasing anyone to pay them.
He said both investors felt the charges were excessive and that during the years of non-payment following the 2006 Ryder Cup, the management companies had allowed the five-star resort to become somewhat run down.
They mounted a counterclaim in which they alleged the K Club had, in breach of a purchase agreement of the apartment, failed to operate and maintain the Kildare Hotel and Country Club Resort to the highest standards.
They claimed the five-star status of the complex had been compromised because of the closure, during extended periods throughout the winter, of the Smurfit Clubhouse and Golf Course, the Legends Restaurant and the Monza Restaurant.
They alleged shortcomings in repair, maintenance and decor of common areas within the development, and failure to maintain lawns, gardens and landscaped areas, some of which had become scruffy.
The accountants alleged that due to a drop in standards and availability of services, the K Club could no longer be classified as a five-star development and had been operating at a lower star rating.
However Mr Crowe said in cross-examination that standards had been significantly restored since 2009.
Mr Justice Deery, who heard that the K Club was owed €300,000 in unpaid service charges from other owners in the resort, said Mr Buckley and Mr Crowe had contracted to pay the service charges and should have known, as accountants, that the charges would have to be paid.
He granted the K Club a decree for €17,730 for service charges against both men and told Helen O’Driscoll, counsel for the two, that he would put a stay on his order to facilitate consideration of an appeal to the High Court.
The K Club claim had previously been settled but the agreement had broken down and the claim went to full trial.