The jury in the Proinsias De Rossa case yesterday awarded the former Minister for Social Welfare £300,000 in damages for libel in an article in the Sunday Independent in 1992. The jury had retired at 2.53 p.m. to consider whether Mr De Rossa had been libelled in the article written by Eamon Dunphy in the Sunday Independent on December 13th, 1992.
In just under two hours, the 11 women and one man answered the questions which had been put to them. The questions were: did the words complained of mean: 1) (a) that the plaintiff was involved in or tolerated serious crime; (b) that the plaintiff personally supported anti-semitism and violent communist oppression. 2) If the answer to 1 or any part thereof is "Yes", assess damages.
When the jury returned at 4.45 p.m., a piece of paper with the verdict was handed to Mr Justice Carney.
He read out that they had answered yes to question 1 (a) and (b) and that the damages in part 2 were £300,000.
After the verdict had been read out by the judge, Mr Sean Ryan SC, for Mr De Rossa, asked for his costs in this action and also for the costs of the previous inconclusive trial.
Mr Justice Carney said that he would give him costs and all reserved costs.
Mr Michael McDowell SC, for Independent Newspapers, said that there would be substantial argument about the costs of the previous trial.
The judge said that certainly regarding this trial, there could not be a contest and he would award costs here and now. He would reserve the costs of the last trial on an occasion to be fixed.
The date could be fixed in the courts central office.
Mr Ryan asked about the costs of the trip to Moscow. The judge said he would reserve the question of costs of that. Mr McDowell said he was asking for a stay. The judge asked how much he was offering. Mr McDowell said the highest award in the High Court was £90,000 and he thought he would relate it to that.
Mr Justice Carney said he would give a stay but ordered that there should be an immediate payment of £100,000 and no stay on the order for costs.
The judge then discharged the jury members and told them that in the light of the tough case they had, he would exempt them from jury service for life.