Leaking Jacuzzi caused €82k worth of water damage to luxury home

A LEAKING Jacuzzi caused over €80,000 of damage to a luxury home on an affluent street in south Dublin, the High Court has heard.

Judge Anthony Barr said the Jacuzzi had been installed in an en suite bathroom on Orwell Park, Rathgar, Dublin 6, where properties change hands for millions.

Judge Barr said the house at the centre of the court case, No.53, was owned by Martin and Louise Whelan.

They had sourced the Jacuzzi and pump for installation in 2007. It was installed by the defendant, McKeon Brothers Ltd, of East Wall, Dublin 3. Around seven years later, in October 2014, the judge said a leak occurred.

‘The water penetrated through the floor of the bathroom and exited into the ceiling cavity and onto the kitchen below,’ he said. ‘It is accepted that as a result of the leak, the plaintiffs suffered damage in the sum of €82,313.65.’

Mr Whelan gave evidence that he had heard the water pump switching on at around 6pm, and thought his wife was having a shower. However, she then shouted from the kitchen that there was water coming through the ceiling, the judge said.

Mr Whelan went upstairs to investigate, and heard a ‘hissing sound’ coming from the Jacuzzi.

He turned off the water supply to the jacuzzi, and the flow of water into the kitchen stopped.

He said Mr and Mrs Whelan were compensated for the damage by their household insurance. The case was then taken by the insurance company, in their name, to recover the money from the defendant.

The judge said it was alleged that the leak was caused due to the negligent installation of the Jacuzzi and associated pipework by a plumber working for McKeon Brothers in 2007.

Site of damage: The home at Orwell Park, Rathgar, Dublin 6

In particular, it was alleged that the plumber had failed to properly secure the flexi-hose and elbow joint on the hot water inlet, and that a nut which had not been tightened adequately became looser over time.

The defendant argued that the leak could not be blamed on a ‘loose’ nut from 2007, given that

‘Inadequate tightening’

the Jacuzzi had operated entirely satisfactorily in the intervening seven-year period.

Having weighed up the engineering and witness evidence in the case, Judge Barr said that on the balance of probabilities, he found that the leak ‘was caused by inadequate tightening of the connections at the time of installation in 2007’.

He ordered that the defendant must pay the €82,000 in agreed damage costs.