Flatley increases damages claim on mansion to €30m
MICHAEL Flatley has increased his estimate of repairing the damage done to his Co. Cork mansion due to alleged defective works to €30million.
The Lord Of The Dance star had previously told the Commercial Court that he was seeking €25million to fix allegedly poor works carried out at Castlehyde following a fire.
Having been asked for a breakdown of those costs by Judge Denis McDonald, his lawyers have now submitted a valuation of €30million for the total renovation work required.
The bill includes a €2.5million estimated bill for painting and décor alone, with further eyewatering sums of €4.35million for demolition, €3.9million for carpentry and joinery, €3.5million for finishes and €2.2million for bespoke plaster works.
Mr Flatley, who is battling cancer and is currently in Miami, has sued a number of defendants including Austin Newport Group Limited, the alleged main contractor that carried out over €4million worth of remediation works on Castlehyde after a fire in 2016.
He claims those works did not deal with toxic ‘carcinogenic’ PVC residue or chloride contamination caused by smoke damage, which was present on the walls and furniture of the property.
He has told the court that the ‘defective’ works have left him, his wife and his son unable to live in his beloved home.
He claims he is due €80,000 a month in insurance payments while he is out of the house.
His case was last week admitted to the Commercial Court – a fasttrack wing of the High Court, which deals with claims worth over €1million. Mr Flatley’s counsel, Ronnie Hudson BL, instructed by solicitor Max Mooney, advised Judge McDonald yesterday that the repair costs had now risen to €30million. The judge said he had seen the affidavit from Mr Mooney, which included a copy of a report from Patrick O’Kane, a construction cost consultant.
The report gave a list of areas which had been checked for chloride contamination and damage from the fire, which Mr Flatley has said is thought to have been caused by an electrical fault.
Beginning at the basement level, the report identified contamination in the pool and spa area, and in the cinema, with wall and ceiling surfaces and flooring all said to require removal.
On the ground floor, there was said to be significant contamination in the kitchen, stairwell, lift shaft and hallway. It is claimed that all the contaminated elements required removing, treating and replacing in keeping with heritage specifications.
Turning to the first and second floors, the report stated that the ‘entire footprints’ had been severely contaminated, with walls, ceilings and floors requiring removal and replacement.
Health and safety protective works were estimated to cost €1.1million, while insurance, plant and tools, scaffolding, power, water and transport would be a further €2million, and the removal and storage of damaged goods would cost €650,000. The VAT, not included in the initial €25million estimate, came to €3.57million.
Mr Flatley has told the court in a sworn statement that he and his family had been unable to live in the house since last October, when they were advised by a maintenance firm that the residue could be carcinogenic – cancer causing.
He has applied to the court to add his current insurers, Hiscox Ireland, to the list of defendants, which also includes the insurers of Castlehyde, Am Amlin Underwriting Ltd, AXA XL Underwriting Ltd, and Hamilton Managing Agency Ltd.
He claims the defendants ‘ought to have known’ about the PVC issue since around August 2016.
He claims the remediation works were carried out negligently, and the defects were ‘hidden’ by the defendants before he moved back in. He has also sued David Cushion, based on Oxford Street, London, who is described in court documents as Mr Flatley’s former accountant and insurance broker.
All the defendants have denied the claims.
Counsel for Mr Cushion told the court yesterday that his client did not believe he should be sued in a personal capacity, and that he had received assurances from Mr Flatley’s agent that he would not be included in the legal proceedings.
Mr Cushion said the claims made about him by Mr Flatley in the court action were incorrect. The Castlehyde insurers, meanwhile, are applying to the president of the High Court for the case to be put on hold to allow mediation to take place. That application will be made in the coming weeks.
Mr Flatley has previously told the court that he had bought Castlehyde in 1999, together with its 150 acres of land in Fermoy. He noted that it was the family home of Douglas Hyde, the first President of Ireland. He said he had carried out a complete renovation of the property after buying it, at a cost of €29million.
The period house is not only a protected structure but also a recorded monument under the National Monuments Act.
‘Ought to have known’