Residents evacuated from a Belfast apartment block over safety concerns are to seek a rehearing in their failed multi-million pound compensation claim.
Property owners at the Victoria Square complex have already lodged an appeal against a High Court decision to strike out their actions for being out of time.
But lawyers representing the group are also pressing to have the claims sent back for reconsideration based on new legislation which widens the scope for litigation over defective buildings in Northern Ireland.
Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan has agreed to hear arguments on the procedural point before the case is fully opened at the Court of Appeal next month.
Completed back in 2008, the Victoria Square residential development on Chichester Street has been empty for the past five years.
In April 2019 residents in all 91 apartments were told to move out following assessments of a structural column.
Ulster Garden Villages Ltd, a charity which owns more than half the flats, and individual owners joined forces to sue the builders and architects involved in the city centre development.
They claimed for structural defects, negligence and loss of value in a joint lawsuit estimated to be worth up to £25m.
Construction firms Farrans and Gilbert-Ash, along with architecture company Building Design Partnership, vehemently denied any liability.
In March, the three defendants successfully applied to have the action struck out on the grounds that it was statute barred.
Under laws in Northern Ireland compensation claims for defective premises must be lodged within six years of a building being completed - unlike the 30 year timeframe in England and Wales.
A High Court judge dismissed the action after finding that the apartment owners were caught by that limit.
That ruling is currently set to be challenged at the Court of Appeal.
Meanwhile, amid widespread public sympathy for those who have lost their homes, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons moved to introduce new laws to bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK.
The Defective Premises Act (NI) 2024 has now received royal assent and come into effect.
Due to that change to the legislative landscape, lawyers representing Ulster Garden Villages and some of the other owners want a preliminary hearing to determine how the case should be dealt with.
Sean Brannigan KC, instructed by James Turner of O’Reilly Stewart law firm, told the Lady Chief Justice: “It would be better to deal with the procedural matters before (the appeal) so it doesn’t go off like a damp squib.”
He submitted that there were issues of “humanity” at the heart of his client’s claims.
Mr Brannigan added: “We are dealing for the first time in my career with a statute passed specifically with relevance to this case.”
Counsel for the defendants were in agreement that it would be better to obtain further legal clarity.
Dame Siobhan confirmed the Court of Appeal will sit to deal with the procedural points ahead of the full scheduled hearing.