Conor McGregor faces paying the bulk of the legal costs, estimated at more than €1m million, of a woman awarded almost €250,000 damages after a High Court jury upheld her civil claim she was raped by the Mixed Martial Arts fighter in a Dublin hotel.
Nikita Hand is entitled to her costs, including discovery and reserved costs, against Mr McGregor, Mr Justice Alexander Owens said on Thursday.
The costs are on the normal party-party basis, not the higher solicitor-client basis sought by Ms Hand’s side, because the judge found nothing in the conduct of the defence case to justify the “exceptional” higher costs order.
James Lawrence, a friend of Mr McGregor’s, is not entitled to his costs against Ms Hand arising from the jury finding last month Mr Lawrence had not assaulted her in the Beacon hotel on December 9th 2018 after Mr McGregor had left the hotel, the judge ruled.
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He dismissed her assault claim against Mr Lawrence but made no order on costs, meaning each side pay their own costs in relation to that claim.
It was “difficult to see” how there could be any separate legal costs incurred by Mr Lawrence, a man of “modest means”, whose legal bills were paid by Mr McGregor, he said.
In this “most singular and peculiar” case, the defence of Mr McGregor relied on what Mr Lawrence said. Both men filed a joint defence, were represented by the same solicitors, and were “in lock step with each other”.
The jury decision that Mr Lawrence had not assaulted Ms Hand must have arisen because they did not believe Mr Lawrence’s claim he witnessed sex between Mr McGregor and Ms Hand and later had consensual sex with her himself after Mr McGregor left the hotel.
Mr Lawrence’s claim was made to gardaí in February 2019 following a “cryptic comment”, and assertions by Mr McGregor to gardaí that Mr Lawrence had sex with Ms Hand, the judge said.
The jury’s “no” answer was a “no” based on no sex with Mr Lawrence having taken place, not a “no” based on absence of proof of lack of consent by Ms Hand to sex with Mr Lawrence. It meant Mr Lawrence had not taken advantage of Ms Hand while drunk “because he did not have sex with her at all”.
A social media post in which Mr McGregor allegedly made “an intemperate attack on the integrity of the jury” may involve “scandalising the court”, a contempt of court because it strikes at public confidence in the administration of justice, the judge said. “That cannot be tolerated.”
The jury were “rightly concerned” about being surreptitiously photographed during the “high powered trial” and he had no reason to suppose they did not decide the issues in accordance with their oaths and affirmations.
He had not decided what he would do about the post, he could begin to institute a contempt proceeding which might result in a fine that Mr McGregor, “a very rich man”, could afford to pay.
Mr Justice Owens made the costs orders on Thursday arising from the jury’s verdict, delivered on November 22nd last after a 12 day hearing, on Ms Hand’s claims against both men.
A mother of one and hair colourist, Ms Hand (35) told the jury Mr McGregor raped her in the hotel after she told him “in a nice way” she did not want to have sex. She said she told him she felt uncomfortable, they had mutual friends, she was menstruating at the time with a tampon inside her and would not have sex during her period.
Mr McGregor, she said, “would not take no for an answer” and she stopped resisting him after he put her in a chokehold three times, leaving her struggling to breathe.
Mr McGregor denied rape and said they had “vigorous”, “athletic” and “fully consensual” sex without “an iota of distress” from Ms Hand.
Ms Hand also sued Mr Lawrence, of Rafter’s Road, Drimnagh, after his statement to gardaí in February 2019 alleging he had consensual sex twice with her after Mr McGregor left the hotel. Ms Hand said in evidence she had no memory of having sex with Mr Lawrence and described it as a “made-up story”.
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