A company controlled by Noel Smyth, the solicitor and developer, has filed legal proceedings against fellow property developer Gerry Gannon, new High Court records show.
Fitzwilliam Real Estate Developments Limited, which Smyth controls with his wife, Anne Marie, filed a plenary summons with the court this week.
The precise cause of action or the specific details of the case are not yet clear. However, The Irish Times understands the case relates to a dispute between the two men linked to Mr Gannon’s sale of the former QuickPark car park near Dublin Airport.
The Irish Times attempted to contact both Mr Smyth and Mr Gannon before publication, but neither provided any comment.
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So far the only document filed in the proceedings is a plenary summons on behalf of Mr Smyth. A plenary summons is used to commence a legal action in a dispute between two parties, and it will likely be followed by an exchange of more detailed pleadings between the sides.
Mr Smyth’s company, Fitzwilliam, is being represented by Clark Hill Solicitors, which last year bought Mr Smyth’s legal practice HBMO Solicitors, formerly known as Noel Smyth and Partners. As part of the acquisition, the ten solicitors in HBMO moved over to join Clark Hill.
So far no solicitor is on record for Mr Gannon, the defendant, and it is not clear if notice of the proceedings has yet been served upon him.
Mr Gannon last year struck a deal to sell the car park site to the DAA, which runs Dublin Airport. However, the State’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) blocked that deal over fears it would stifle competition for car parking around the airport.
Since then there has been no official announcement on whether a formal sales process would be reopened.
Several bidders are known to still be interested in buying the site, including Pat Crean of the Marlet Property Group, an Irish investment company called Innovest, a consortium led by Joe O’Leary of BMOL Financial, and an Irish parking company called Euro Car Parks.
Rumours at the time also linked Mr Smyth to a possible bid, though it was never confirmed whether he was bidding directly or as part of a consortium of other investors. Mr Smyth declined to comment on the matter at the time.
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