Judge becoming ‘impatient’ over delays in defective blocks court case

A High Court Judge has expressed impatience at an ongoing delay on a key motion in a landmark case involving defective block homeowners in Donegal.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), one of three named defendants in a case that is before the Commercial Court, were due to have a motion heard before the Commercial Court on Monday. However, the NSAI sought a further adjournment on the matter until the end of January.

While granting the adjournment, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said he was seeking “some comfort that the matter is proceeding”.

Mr Ben Clarke BL, instructed by Coleman Legal Solicitors, who are bringing the class action on behalf of the homeowners, told Mr Justice Sanfey that he was consenting to the NSAI motion, which is central to how quarry samples are taken and assessed.

The judge told Mr Clarke that he is “getting a little impatient” and, adjourning the matter until January 26, added: “This matter needs to be pressed on”.

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

Mr Justice Sanfey asked that his message be conveyed to the legal team of the NSAI. 

Mr Clarke said the plaintiffs were also impatient and said he would address the court on that matter on the next occasion.

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

The NSAI issued a Notice of Motion in May 2025 seeking directions from the Court in relation to these matters. 

Since then, Coleman Legal has worked collaboratively with the plaintiffs’ experts to resolve the issues without requiring court intervention. The motion was last listed for mention on 10 November 2025, when a further date was sought. 

The Commercial Court also heard that a €2,000 contribution has been agreed from the Cassidy Brothers’ legal team towards resolving discovery defects and NSAI has also contributed to related costs.

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.