The Gazette 1975

of the sub-soil. Mr. Beale was negligent in failing to do so. Having regard to his general duty to supervise the construction of the building, it was the view of the Court that he was under a duty to ensure that Messrs. O'Reagan Precast Limited, whom he had recommended to the builder, and whom he knew were going to manufacture the beams, would have sufficient informa- tion at their disposal to enable them to calculate the load the beams would be required to carry. The Court was also satisfied that Mr. O'Driscoll did not seek any information about the nature of the roof and relied on his interpretation of the plans submitted to him and this led to his mistaken assumption that the entire of the roof was to be of wood. The beams were designed and manufactured by Messrs. O'Regan Precast Ltd., and delivered to the site where they were installed under the direction of Mr. Gerry Callaghan, an employee of the company. The work on the hotel progressed and was com- pleted in November, 1967, and possession was handed over to Mr. Lynch. At some stage prior to the completion, and contrary to the wishes of Mr. Beale, two 600-gallon water tanks were placed on the roof of the hotel in the vicinity of the north-east corner. It was alleged by the architect, and Precast Ltd., that this contributed substantially to the trouble which subsequently developed. The hotel was opened on December 4th, 1967, and Mr. Lynch carried on busi-

Mr. Justice Hamilton apportioned the damages as to one third against the architect and two thirds against the builder and Precast Ltd. He gave judgment for £16,526 against the architect and for £33,053 against the other defendants. He also granted a stay of execution. Mr. Justice Hamilton, in his judgment, said the evidence established to the satisfaction of the court that Mr. Lynch, in 1966, purchased the site of the old Fever Hospital, at Midleton, with the intention of building a guest house. It was the intention of Mr. Lynch to apply for a grant from Bord Failte Eireann. In accordance with their usual practices Bord Failte appointed Mr. Robert Creedon as their consultant architect for the purpose of considering the project and plans and advising thereon. In view of the defence made by the architect, the judge said it was necessary that Court should declare its finding of fact that Mr. Credon acted at all times as the consultant architect for Bord Failte and that any suggestions -made by him were made for the purpose of informing Mr. Lynch and Mr. Beale as to what would be required by Bord Failte to enable Mr. Lynch to qualify for a grant. The plaintiff and Mr. Beale were free to reject these suggestions. At no time was Mr. Beale relieved of his obligations as the plaintiff's architect and at no time was he controlled by, and subject to, the directions of the consultant architect to Bord Failte. The Court had no doubt that it was the intention of Mr. Lynch that the hotel would be constructed in such a way that if necessary a second storey could be added and that Mr. Beale so provided in his main drawings. The Court was satisfied that it was at all times the intention of Mr. Lynch, the architect, and Mr. Murphy, that the roof of the building would be a concrete one and that at no time did they indicate otherwise to the managing director of Precast Ltd., Mr. O'Driscoll, or any employer of that firm. Mr. Justice Hamilton said the evidence clearly established that there were two major causes of the structural defects in the building: foundation failure with consequent serious settlement at the back or north-east corner of the building; the failure of the prestressed concrete beams at first-floor level which were inadequate to carry the loads imposed on them. The Court was satisfied that in July, 1969, the building was in such a condition that remedial work was so risky and dangerous that nobody would do it. On the question of negligence the Judge said it was clear from Mr. Beale's evidence that, because of the fact the hotel was being built on a site on which had stood for many years as a substantial building, he did not carry out any investigation" of the sub-soil other than a look at the excavations while they were being dug by the contractor's workmen. Having regard to the duty imposed by law on an architect, and to the evidence of Mr. Kelliher and Mr. McCarthy, he con- sidered that a reasonable architect, even in the circumstances of the case and this site, would at the very least, when the excavations were opened, have carried out the usual probing to establish the nature

COMPULSORY PURCHASE

PROFESSIONAL VALUATION and NEGOTIATION SERVICE

Osborne King &Megran

Dublin 760251 Cork 21371 Galway 5261 also at Belfast and London

19