Circuit Civil Court:A payment of € 10,000 was accepted in settlement of a defamation case by a schoolgirl after a Pearse Street shop posted up her photograph following a bid by two friends to take two cans of beer from an off-licence without paying for them, a court heard yesterday. She had " no hand or part" in the attempt.
Barrister Padraig Lyons told the Circuit Civil Court that “Unfortunately, not only was she blamed for taking goods without paying for them, the management put up a photograph of her in the shop.” Mr Lyons said the photograph included the girl and her two friends and carried a notice underneath stating: “These girls are not to be allowed in this shop.”
He told Judge Matthew Deery that the shop in Pearse Street, Dublin, was owned by KWBC Supermarkets and Off Licenses Ltd, Ballyphehane, Cork, and management had refused to take down the photograph until directed by the gardaí.The photograph had been up for a fortnight.
The girl (15) accepted the settlement if the shop accepted that she was not guilty of any wrongdoing on the day.
