The High Court actions, previously struck out on the grounds of limitation, were reinstated by consent order this week.

Gateley Legal’s Belfast office, instructing Frank O’Donoghue KC and James Milliken BL, have been acting for an appeal group comprising the owners of 17 apartments within the complex.

The appeal group represented by Gateley Legal was the first to lodge an appeal following the judgment of Mr Justice Huddleston which struck out their cases in March 2024 at an early stage on the grounds of limitation.

Under the law in Northern Ireland at that time, most compensation claims for defective premises were required to be brought within six years of a building being completed. In England and Wales, the time frame had earlier been amended to extend to 30 years.

The newly passed Defective Premises Act (NI) 2024 received royal assent and came into effect in September 2024, bringing the limitation period for claims brought in Northern Ireland into line with those in England and Wales.

Jonathan Jackson, legal director at Gateley Legal in Belfast, said: “I am delighted that we have achieved, through an agreed order with the defendants in these cases, a reinstatement of our clients’ High Court cases.

“My clients have been through a particularly stressful period, with much uncertainty as to the road ahead. I am very pleased that they will now have an opportunity to bring their cases forward to be considered on their substantive merits.”

The Victoria Square residential development located on Chichester Street was completed in 2008 but has remained empty since April 2019 after major structural defects were identified resulting in all 91 residents having to vacate the premises.

A claim was lodged by various owners of the apartments against the construction firms Farrans and Gilbert-Ash and architecture company Building Design Partnership, for structural defects, negligence and loss of value.