Bad News for Media Victims

Readers may recall the case of O'Connell v Irish Times in which a mother sued the newspaper for distress caused by allegedly negligent reporting of the circumstances of her son's death. The Plaintiff succeeded in the Circuit Court, but the newspaper appealed to the High Court. (Circuit Court decisions have no formal precedential authority).

The appeal was finally reached recently.

Unfortunately, it was settled before the Court could make a decision. The details are not in the public domain but I gather that, in the final result, the Plaintiff got something from the proceedings, but unfortunately not the satisfaction of improving the legal position of media victims.