Defamation

The High Court has refused an application by Lidl Ireland GMBH for an injunction prohibiting the publication of two advertisements by the Irish Farmers' Association. Lidl claimed that the advertisements contained allegations that their own-brand milk was not Irish and that they had been misleading c

Northern Ireland's defamation laws could be brought in line with England and Wales before the end of the current Assembly mandate, former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Mike Nesbitt has said. Mr Nesbitt yesterday introduced a private member's bill in the Northern Ireland Assembly which would rep

The High Court has awarded £125,000 to Arlene Foster arising out of a defamation action taken against celebrity doctor Christian Jessen. Giving judgment in the case, Mr Justice Gerry McAlinden stated that it was an “outrageously bad libel” which caused significant upset to the Firs

Belfast-based KRW LAW LLP has secured a second six-figure payout for Irish singer Dana after settling a libel case against the Sunday World. Solicitor Kevin Winters acted on behalf of the 1970 Eurovision winner in her action against Independent News & Media (INM) and Sunday Newspapers Ltd over a

Northern Ireland's county courts will gain jurisdiction over more personal injury and defamation cases under plans put out to consultation today. Justice Minister Naomi Long has launched a 12-week public consultation on increasing the general civil jurisdiction of the county courts.

Work has recommenced on drafting a defamation reform bill for Northern Ireland, but it is unlikely to be debated until after the next Stormont elections. There have been prominent class for defamation reform in Northern Ireland since the Defamation Act 2013 overhauled the defamation regime in Englan

Fergal McGoldrick, associate at Carson McDowell, looks at the latest high-profile defamation case in London and considers how it compares to defamation in Northern Ireland. Amidst the gloom of rapidly darkening November evenings, and the doom of a global pandemic, the London libel court has roared b

The highest court in Austria has ruled that Facebook must remove all defamatory comments made about a politician who beat the social media giant in court. Eva Glawischnig, 51, sued Facebook after it refused to remove abusive posts by a user who wrongly referred to her as a “lousy traitor&rdquo

Celebrity actor Johnny Depp has lost a high-profile libel case against the publisher of The Sun after the newspaper described him as a "wife beater". The Queen's Bench Division of the High Court handed down judgment this morning in what has been dubbed the "libel trial of the century" by some commen

A review of Ireland's defamation laws and options for reform are to be laid before Justice Minister Helen McEntee. The Department of Justice aims for fresh legislation to be ready for governmental approval before the end of the year.

A&L Goodbody has directly lobbied government ministers for the removal of juries from defamation cases, according to reports. The firm wrote to Justice Minister Helen McEntee following her appointment earlier this year to argue for urgent reform of the Defamation Act 2009, The Irish Times report

A Limerick solicitor has launched defamation proceedings against the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) over its comments about a personal injury case, according to reports. Gerard O'Neill, founder and principal of O'Neill & Co Solicitors, acted for a claimant in a case which

Ronan Daly Jermyn partner Darryl Broderick and trainee solicitor Therese Collins review a significant reduction in an award made by a jury to a plaintiff in High Court defamation proceedings where an “offer of amends” had been made. The Court of Appeal recently significantly reduced

Ireland's defamation regime is having a detrimental impact on press freedom and the commercial viability of the press, the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman have said. The independent press regulators repeated their call for the government to complete a long-promised rev

The High Court has ordered that State non-parties must make discovery of documents to a defendant in a defamation suit. Background