An important test case has been won by a group of property purchasers bidding to exit from their purchase contracts, one of the first times a court ruling has gone in favour of buyers since the property crash.

Tughans' dispute resolution lawyer Barbara Creed was instrumental in bringing together a group of buyers who had paid deposits for apartments being developed in Belfast's landmark James Clow Building.

The test case victory opens the way for others to pursue similar actions.

"The test case was very important," said Barbara Creed, "in that it brought together some 20 individual property buyers represented by a number of different firms, all of whom agreed to fund and be bound by the judgement in the case. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that such a group funding agreement has been implemented in Northern Ireland.

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"Now that the judge has ruled in the favour of the purchasers in the test case, it is likely that other purchaser’s will pursue their own actions through the courts."

The court judgement ruled that the developer involved, Sarcon No. 177 based in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, was in fundamental breach of contract by delaying completion of the development at the James Clow Building and failing to invoke protection under clause 8 of the Building Agreement. As a result it was held that that the purchasers in the test case were entitled to have their deposits repaid along with interest at 5%.

"The judgement may have an impact on other developments where delays were caused by circumstances within the control of developers but all cases will have to be considered carefully in light of the full written judgment and on their individual facts," adds Barbara Creed of Tughans. "Importantly the joint funding approach could also encourage the joint funding of further litigation here in Northern Ireland."

The aftermath of the property crash has sparked a series of disputes between developers and purchasers over contracts.

(GK)