CHASE welcomes the ruling today by the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Kearns to grant costs to An Bord Pleanala, and to CHASE as a notice party, following Indavers last minute retreat from the High Court in October 2012, based on Indavers prolonging of their appeal case with no intention of continuing it.
Mr Justice Kearns found that after a certain point (10th September 2012) Indaver conducted the case in a manner that ‘can only be seen as an abuse of the court process’. (Indaver NV ta Indaver Ireland v. An Bord Pleanala (Judgment of Kearns P., 21 January 2013)). He says that Indaver prolonged the case without intending to continue it and withdrew the proceedings at the last minute. He therefore awarded the Board and CHASE their costs as and from that date and ordered that costs be assessed by the Taxing Master.
Mr Justice Kearns refused Indavers request that he make a decision on costs. Indaver however have requested leave to appeal this refusal to the Supreme Court. The President has said he will hear argument on that request for leave to appeal in two weeks time.
CHASE Chairperson Mary O’Leary said “While we are delighted at the decision, it highlights Indavers manipulative approach to the planning process, and exposes the disreputable manner in which they have conducted themselves in court.’
“It also brings the fact that Indaver intend to apply for planning yet again on the same site into sharp focus. We are waging a war of attrition against a deep pocketed corporate sector and seeing the same application brought back to the same site really questions the meaning, not to mention the effectiveness, of the Strategic Infrastructure process.”