More than 1,000 High Court writs have been lodged in the High Court by homeowners in Donegal seeking compensation outside of the MICA redress scheme.
The applicants are part of a multi-party court action taken by Coleman Legal following a number of meetings held in the county recently.
Donegal Daily has learned that a total of 1,020 writs have been lodged as of yesterday (Thursday).
The writs are seeking compensation between the amount paid out by the Government and the shortfall homeowners may find themselves needing to rebuild their homes.
The number of High Court writs being issued is unprecedented with an average of 25 being the norm.
A total of over 1,400 applicants have now signed up for the legal scheme and the threshold of 2,000 cases is expected to be reached over the next couple of months.
The first Statement of Claim on behalf of the lead plaintiff case of William & Grainne Doherty is close to completion.
“It is a year-long piece of work outlining what happened to them, the destruction to their home, the injury, asking why it was allowed to happen and ultimately who is responsible,” Dave Coleman of Coleman Legal told Donegal Daily.
Statements of Claim on behalf of the other lead cases are to follow.
Based on the scale of the case and the writs, Coleman Legal will be applying to the High Court to have the cases individually managed.
One of those who have now signed up to the scheme of leading MICA campaigner Michael Doherty.
Local businessmen Shaun Hegarty and Adrian Sheridan are funding the legal bid.
Those who sign up for the legal scheme have been assured they can withdraw from the scheme at any time and also that their overall costs will be between €750 and €1,500.
Mr Coleman said he expected the action to be the biggest of its kind in the history of the State.
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