Two elderly sisters will have to find a new home after the High Court yesterday cleared the way for the sale of a Blackrock, Co Dublin, house where they lived for decades.
The property has been at the centre of extensive litigation as Ms Rose Blackall (81) and her sister, Eileen (88), fought to remain there.
Three years ago the Circuit Court ordered the sale of the property for £400,000.Relatives of the sisters estimate that, with some 1.75 acres of land attached to the house, the property is now worth around £3 million.
After the sale for £400,000 goes through, mortgage charges and legal costs are likely to leave little if any money available.
Neither of the Blackall sisters was in court yesterday for what may have been the last round of the legal battle. They are staying with relatives. Rose is bedridden and Eileen had a recent eye operation and is not well.
Outside court, relatives of the sisters said the psychological impact on them of the sale of the house would be huge.
The sisters have been in the Circuit Court, High Court and Supreme Court many times in relation to the property. They are joint owners of it, with their sister-in-law, Ms Iris Blackall, widow and administrator of the estate of their brother, Gerald.
Three years ago the Circuit Court ordered the sale of the property to Chessington Ltd, a development company, if it was prepared to pay £400,000 for it. Before leaving the court, a director of the company, Mr John McDonald, signed a contract which stipulated that a £40,000 deposit should be paid. The High and Supreme Courts later affirmed that decision.
The case later went back again to the Circuit Court when the solicitor who had been given carriage of the sale, Mr Brendan Moloney, asked for an order executing the deed of conveyance to the purchaser. The Circuit Court found that all parties, including the company, had "constructive knowledge" that only 12.5 per cent of the deposit on foot of the contract had been paid and that no one had requested payment of the outstanding 87.5 per cent.
The Circuit Court judge added that, if Chessington Ltd believed it had a contract, the correct thing would have been to pay the deposit. He believed that by allowing years to pass before even tendering the deposit, the developers were in breach of a section of the contract of sale, nullifying it.
The Circuit Court decision was appealed by the solicitor with carriage of sale to the High Court.
In his judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Finnegan held that, while there was a breach of the conditions for the sale, the contract for sale remained in existence. He said the purchaser must pay interest on the deposit already paid.
The judge said the sale should be closed as soon as possible, within 28 days. He said the question of any distribution of monies after the sale could go back to the Circuit Court.