Discovery orders granted in woman’s civil claim against Conor McGregor

The High Court has made a pre-trial discovery order in civil proceedings being taken against mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor.

Mr McGregor and one of his associates are being sued for personal injuries by a Dublin woman arising out of an alleged incident in December 2018.

The order was made by Ms Justice Emily Egan on Monday which requires An Garda Síochána, which is a non-party in the proceedings, to disclose certain material and documents to the woman and her lawyers.

Mr McGregor, originally from Crumlin, Dublin, and who strongly denies all claims of wrongdoing against him, will also be furnished with copies of the material disclosed by the gardaí.

The plaintiff is represented by Coleman Legal Partners in the proceedings, while Mr McGregor is represented by Michael J Staines & Company. The alleged incident at the centre of the woman's claims had previously been the subject of an investigation by An Garda Síochána. However, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution decided no criminal charges should be brought.

In a pretrial motion, known as a common law motion, the woman’s legal team is seeking discovery of documents and materials from the gardaí which her lawyers argue will help her prove her claim. The motion first came before the court late last year but was adjourned to allow discussions between the parties to take place.

At the High Court on Monday Ms Justice Egan was informed orders could be made directing gardaí to provide the plaintiff with the discovery of certain materials. Under the terms of the order the gardaí are to disclose any statements given to them by the defendants and any witnesses or persons while they investigated the alleged 2018 incident.

The gardaí must also disclose any CCTV stills or photographs taken from various locations in Dublin including the exterior of the Goat Bar and Grill, Gerard Paul Salon in Goatstown, from an in-taxi camera, and from the Beacon Hotel and its surroundings taken between the evening of December 8th and 8am on 10th December 2018.

Gardaí must further discover all data, downloads, reports, or information from any mobile phones obtained or interrogated in the course of the investigation. Any data recovered from the defendants’ phones is to be limited to any generated between October 31st 2018 and December 10th 2018, and further limited to material from October 31st and December 7th 2018 in relation to any material generated between the plaintiff and the defendants.

Data obtained from the phones of other persons during the investigation that was generated between December 8th and 10th 2018, is also to be discovered by the gardaí.

The court also ordered the Garda to discover any results of medical toxicology, technical, or forensic analysis generated during the investigations.

The Garda neither objected to nor formally consented to the orders being made, the court heard.

In addition, lawyers for the defendants would also be furnished with copies of whatever material is discovered to the plaintiff the judge heard. Discovery is to be completed within the next 10 weeks.

The plaintiff’s actions were filed in the High Court last year, however no details of her claims have been aired in open court.

A second personal injuries action against Mr McGregor has been taken by the woman’s mother, who is also being represented by Coleman Legal Partners.

The allegations in that action are also fully denied.