Case Explained: High Court Judge expresses impatience over delays in major defective blocks case – Legal Perspective

Crucial testing in a defective concrete block case that is before the High Court has been delayed by nine months.

On Monday, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey again expressed impatience at the ongoing delay on a key motion in a landmark case involving affected homeowners in Donegal.

Legal representatives for the homeowners have pointed the finger at the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), who are one of three named defendants in the case before the Commercial Court.

“We believe that NSAI have been fundamentally wrong in the manner in which they have approached this for quite some time now,” Mr John Gordon SC, representing Coleman Legal, told the court.

“There’s been a good deal of back tracking on the part of NSAI’s own experts. We say in the end of the day either they proceed with their motion or they concede the motion and we will be looking for our costs. 

Mr Gordon said that petrographic testing, central to the litigation, was agreed in January last year and was due to begin in February at an independent testing facility in Copenhagen. 

However, he said objections raised by the NSAI’s experts prevented the testing from proceeding as planned.

Mr Gordon said: “The result of all this, Judge, is that testing which was due to start nine months ago is starting now, that’s nine months’ delay in one of the biggest and most distressing cases this State has ever seen. We say it is entirely inappropriate that the NSAI should continue dragging  its heels in this way.”

He said that the matter should be adjourned to enable testing progress, but said that Coleman Legal would seek legal costs if the NSAI either abandoned or lost its motion.

The NSAI Scope motion deals with disputes over the method of taking concrete samples from Cassidy Brothers’ Gransha quarry for testing. 

A number of technical issues have arisen between the plaintiffs and the NSAI regarding testing methodologies applied to certain samples taken from the quarry.

“I have been concerned at how this motion is delaying the case,” Mr Justice Sanfey said. “This is extremely serious litigation. It is absolutely essential in the context of the case that the parties get on with the testing.” 

He stressed the importance of expert cooperation and said it was not for the court to determine scientific testing methodologies. Mr. Justice Sanfey adjourned the testing matter to March 23.

In a separate but related matter, the Commercial Court also heard that Cassidy Brothers had failed to comply with a court order requiring the delivery of discovery documents by December 19, 2025. 

Mr. Gordon told the court that while a €2,000 contribution had been received in relation to the discovery process from Cassidy Brothers, the outstanding discovery had not been provided.

Mr. Justice Sanfey said this was unsatisfactory and directed that Cassidy Brothers’ solicitor, Edward Dillon, to attend court on Thursday morning of this week to explain the failure to comply with the court order. 

The discovery issue will also return before the court on Thursday.

Defective Blocks Ireland, a not-for-profit organisation founded by Buncrana businessmen Adrian Sheridan and Shaun Hegarty, is taking the case against Cassidy Brothers, Donegal County Council and the NSAI.

Led by Coleman Legal, the litigation, on behalf of over 2,000 affected homeowners, remains a vital route to accountability and redress for families across Donegal, whose homes have been devastated by defective concrete.

Coleman Legal has confirmed that discovery has now concluded across the six lead cases in the main litigation. A further exchange of documents took place in July 2025 by way of supplemental discovery.