The Curse of Defective Concrete (Mica, Pyrrhotite, etc.) in Donegal homes - Read Mod warning Post 1

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118872633#Comment_118872633

Yeah as it stands if you bought after January 2020 you are not eligible (unless you can prove you had no knowledge the house had defective blocks - how that is determined Im not sure).

All will be revealed when this goes to cabinet in the next few months. I just cant see how people who cant raise the funds required to access this scheme as it is can be left behind. At the moment its the majority of people unless they make big changes to include costs for demolition, disposal and poured foundations. Hopefully theres no more can kicking now.

Penfailed

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/first-mica-lawsuit-as-standards-body-quarry-and-council-sued-41579222.html

Very interested to see how this pans out...

muffler

A bit more detail here

And a bit from the legal reps here

SBourgaize

Can confirm, received a call today from themselves for information about our house / when we bought / when we suspected mica and a few other questions.

jj880

There is no such thing as class action in Ireland (yet).

When a solicitor says "no win no fee" that means if you lose they wont take part of your settlement compensation. But obviously if you lose there is no compensation. However you are still liable for legal costs FOR BOTH SIDES.

Coleman have been asked on numerous occasions to clarify their legal approach including the legality of 3rd party funding of cases in Ireland and have so far refused to give any explanation.

Please be careful before going down any legal route. Do your research.

jj880

Take a read of this: https://www.facebook.com/100069622398986/posts/285054607158617/

Penfailed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118966375#Comment_118966375

Can't stand that man. I take everything he says with a pinch of salt.

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118966375#Comment_118966375

You're not seriously suggesting that people should listen to him rather than qualified legal eagles?

Penfailed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118967741#Comment_118967741

He can't even distinguish between, "However," and, "Whoever."

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118967702#Comment_118967702

Im saying read and make up your own mind. What he posts here is direct from his senior counsels that he has worked with for decades. Should you ignore it because you don't like him? Fair enough.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118967741#Comment_118967741

Again anything legal he posts gets the all clear from his own senior counsels. He and his legal team know the Irish system inside out due to their history with numerous successful cases since the 90s.

I notice both of you focus on the fact you dont like McBrearty. Care to comment on my previous post?

Im not looking to fall out with people in this thread but to ignore and cherry pick because of your personal views on McBrearty seems strange.

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118967870#Comment_118967870

Where did I say I didnt like him?

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118967888#Comment_118967888

You answer my question first and I'll answer yours.

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118967908#Comment_118967908

The answer to your question is no.

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118967934#Comment_118967934

So no reply to my initial post. Poor enough response that.

Ok so you didnt explicitly say you dont like him. Why are you questioning why people should listen to him then? Post your reasoning.

Penfailed

He's only in it for himself. He doesn't get the all clear from senior counsel before he posts on Facebook. He's an armchair litigator.

jj880

I get the sense maybe some people here are already signed up with Coleman. I dont want to upset anyone. Im not going to debate this any further.

Penfailed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118968152#Comment_118968152

I've already stated in this thread that I am. I get the sense that you think McBrearty is a great fella altogether. He's a shít-stirrer. As I've said before, he's only in this for himself and will string along the gullible for as long as it suits him.

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118968168#Comment_118968168

Apologies I missed that. His personality or other people's dislike of him isnt really of interest to me. I've never met the man. I honestly thought McBreartys legal case (ongoing) and his legal teams advice is worth looking at for people in this thread due to his case history. However last thing I want to do in here is cause stress for people who have already started their own legal challenge. I would have no objections to all posts from mine at 4.45pm yesterday being deleted by mods and I wont post on this topic again.

Penfailed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118968814#Comment_118968814

I'm not taking any offence and I would prefer your continued input on the thread.

McBrearty has consistently slated MAG and Paddy Diver and now he's sticking his oar in about this legal case but I've yet to hear anything constructive from him about what people should do instead.

I'm neither defending nor criticising Frank McBrearty - but I did notice one comment where he said the Company being sued no longer exists, or words to that effect.

If memory serves me right, Cassidys did change their name some years back. (Possibly even a few times?) So, McBrearty would be 100% correct in stating that the Company that provided the blocks cannot be sued in a lot of cases (not necessarily all cases, though). It would depend on whether the Cassidys "version" of the Company where the blocks were bought by the person suing is the version that exists now.

If not, that's a waste of time and money. And the legal firm may, or may not be aware of that - but they would very definitely need to check...

Also, if Cassidys, in all their various names, were/are a limited Company, then the option of suing the owners is also pretty much dead in the water, as they cannot be sued for more than their original investment in whatever version of the company exists now.. Now, that might be a significant amount - but it's very unlikely. Company startups are usually funded by bank loans for a reason, which is to limit the personal liability of the people starting the Company. Or, in plain English - if I start a Limited Company with €300, and it fails, or gets wound down, then I personally cannot get sued for more than €300, under Company law.

Now, a civil case might be different - but the bar for proof in a civil case is much higher.

I'm sorry if this is bad news for some of ye. That is not my intention.

I'm just giving ye a heads up. Anyone going after Cassidys needs to check the name of the Company they bought from, and whether that Company still exists.

I sincerely wish all of ye the best of luck!

dollylama

Something I've noted in various commentary about damage first appearing in houses is that cracking either appeared or worsened after cavities were pumped.

While I don't doubt for a moment that the quality of blocks used in the worst affected houses were utter dogsh*t, is there any discussion or engineering thoughts on the impact pumping cavities might have had on the already borderline blocks?

Pumping the cavity seemed to be all the rage towards the end of the boom with many new operators appearing on the scene with likely little to no certification or quality checks on the materials being injected.

NIMAN

Re: pumping the cavities.

I don't think it's the quality of the materials in the gap that might be the issue, its the fact that you are now creating a bridge between the outer leaf and the inner leaf, and potentially transferring damp or moisture from the outer blocks to the inner blocks?

malinheader

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118995540#Comment_118995540

That's correct. I always wondered how pumped cavities were supposed to be a good thing. I always remember when building being told never to leave mortar even on a wall tye in the cavity as this will cause dampness. Definitely a pumped cavity seems to contradict anything I was ever told.

Penfailed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118991358#Comment_118991358

I've heard that there was a handover at some stage and a possible name change. I've also heard that it's only a ruse and the original company still exists. Either way, I don't really care. I just want the company finished. I hope there's never another stone comes through those quarry gates.

I can understand that! I'd prefer it was finished, and I'm not affected!

I was just trying to give a heads-up to anyone thinking of taking a case, because the trading name is not always the name of the registered Company.

I've done that, so, again, I hope everyone affected gets 100% redress, which should have happened long ago, imo.

Apologies if it has been asked before but does anyone have a rough estimate of how much cost an average homeowner will bear even with 100% redress?

I mean even if by some miracle the entire process works without a hitch, the rebuild grant hardly covers replacing wooden flooring, tiling, kitchen worktops, door frames, plumbing, electrics, etc.

I'm guessing by the time everything is back in place, along with the inevitable years of stress and struggle, the bill will still be well into the tens of thousands?

RandomViewer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119001712#Comment_119001712

The way material costs are spiralling I think there'll be quite a bit more required to finish

NIMAN

Probably depends on how much you can salvage from your home to be used again too.

But ripping up/out some things simply make them unusable again. Other things could be used in the rebuild.

Lano Lynn

how much are engineers charging for mica / pyrite survey report?

mickdw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119086984#Comment_119086984

It's pricey as far as I know but I recently read one such report and it was of limited use.

I am a Engineer and carry out house surveys.

I put a query against one particular house I surveyed as it was built with block from questionable supplier and was showing alot of cracks yet not the typical pyrite cracks.

Pyrite Surveyor visited house, reported that no damage and didn't require testing.

Owner decided to test regardless and lab found a certain percentage of pyrite and classified the house as medium risk based on this.

Report made no further conclusions or didn't attempt to offer any explanation or advice. Buyer walked away.