Defamation

News publishers who appealed over articles defamatory of a man in respect of his behaviour towards his former wife have had their appeal dismissed by justices in the Supreme Court on the basis the “serious harm” test was satisfied. The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the appeal,

Ireland's present defamation laws pose a "major threat to press freedom", the Press Council of Ireland has warned. Seán Donlon, chairman of the Press Council, said the Defamation Act 2009 had led to juries making "substantial awards which were subsequently deemed excessive by higher courts, i

Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush has been awarded Australia's largest ever defamation payout to a single person. Mr Rush won $2.9 million AUD (around £1.58 million or €1.8 million) in his lawsuit against the publishers of the Daily Telegraph tabloid.

The Sunday World has lost an appeal against the finding that two articles it published about a former GAA footballer were seriously defamatory and warranted an award of €310,000 in damages. Dismissing the Sunday World’s appeal, Mr Justice Michael Peart allowed the man’s cross-appeal

Ciaran O'Shiel, associate in IP, media and data disputes at A&L Goodbody in Belfast, considers the consequences of a recent judgment of the UK Supreme Court. “He tried to strangle me. What would those words convey to the ordinary reasonable reader of a Facebook post?” is how Lord Ker

Prominent solicitor Gerald Kean has been awarded €160,000 in damages and costs by the High Court after a jury found that he was defamed in a newspaper article. Mr Kean sued news publisher Independent Star Ltd over an Irish Daily Star article published on 11 March 2016 concerning a visit by Crim

A major new campaign to overhaul Ireland's defamation laws has been launched to coincide with World Press Freedom Day 2019. NewsBrands Ireland, the representative body for major Irish news publishers, claims the Irish laws are among the most restrictive in Europe and the English-speaking world.

A woman sued for defamation by her ex-husband over her claim on Facebook that he “tried to strangle me” has had her appeal unanimously allowed by the UK Supreme Court on the basis an ordinary reader of the post would have interpreted it as meaning the ex-husband had grasped the woman by

The executor of a deceased man's estate has been allowed to continue defamation proceedings he launched before his death. The estate of Sean McEniff, a former councillor and hotelier in Co Donegal, was substituted as plaintiff in the defamation claim under the provisions of the Defamation Act 2009,

Defamation lawyer Paul Tweed has warned that Facebook faces a wave of lawsuits from celebrities whose likenesses are being used without permission in adverts on the social media platform. Mr Tweed is representing RTÉ presenter Miriam O'Callaghan in a High Court case against Facebook over adve

The story of an Irish lawyer who successfully sued the BBC over his portrayal in a 1950s radio adaptation of James Joyce's Ulysses will be the subject of a lecture in Dublin next week. Dublin solicitor Reuben James Dodd Junior launched a lawsuit against the BBC after a June 1954 broadcast of an adap

A legal assistant who sued Irish Rail for defamation after being challenged on her use of an invalid train ticket has lost her case, the Irish Examiner reports. Nicola Dowd, based in Dublin, alleged that ticket inspectors had defamed, embarrassed, intimidated and shamed her in front of other passeng

Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon has won £30,000 in damages from a tabloid newspaper that claimed he had performed with a band which "delights in Nazi symbols". Mr Burgon, MP for Leeds East, launched the unusual libel proceedings against The Sun in connection with a story published in m

Former Justice Minister Patrick Cooney has reached a settlement in his defamation action against The Irish Times. The case was struck out by Mr Justice Bernard Barton in the High Court today after the parties agreed that Mr Cooney would receive an apology, "substantial" damages and his legal costs.