Former nightclub owner Frank Shortt appealed today to the Supreme Court to increase the €1.9 million compensation he was awarded after being framed by gardaí in Donegal.
Frank Shortt is appealing to the Supreme Court to increase the compensation he was awarded
Mr Shortt (71) was jailed for three years after being wrongly convicted of giving drug dealers free reign to sell ecstasy to clubbers in the Point Inn on the Inishowen Peninsula in 1992.
He was locked up in Mountjoy prison in 1995, put on anti-depressants and lost two-and-a-half stone in a few months.
Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, President of the High Court, awarded the married father-of-five €1.93 million in October last year, stating that he had suffered an outrageous abuse of power.
But his lawyers told the Supreme Court the award was insufficient and inadequate for what he went through.
Mr Shortt had been given €500,000 for general damages, but Chief Justice John L. Murray noted: "It would not buy a mid-terrace cottage in Dublin."
Mr Shortt was subjected to 13 court cases over 12 years, from the district courts in the early 1990s right through to the High Court last year.
The court was told the payment did not take into account physical and mental effects of the frame-up, nor did it take account of aggravated damages. And it was claimed Mr Justice Finnegan had under-compensated the former publican as he attempted to ensure there would be no overlapping of damages.
The court heard Mr Shortt had suffered back, heart and mental problems as a result of his incarceration and that the damage to his character was sustained.
They added that the local community in Inishowen saw the false conviction as a case of no smoke without fire, with many people treating him like a pariah.
The court heard that disgraced former Garda Supt Kevin Lennon, an inspector at the time, organised three visits to the Point Inn in the summer of 1992, culminating in a highly publicised raid on the night of August 2nd.
At the time the shamed officer was quoted in the Derry Journalas saying that his officers had acted magnificently. Gardaí built a false case against Mr Shortt, claiming that he watched dealers openly selling drugs and did nothing to stop them.
Mr Shortt's lawyers said the settlement made no reference to him being assaulted or that officers acted in a heavy-handed fashion during the drugs bust.
Mr Shortt had sued the Garda Commissioner and the State.
Mr Justice Finnegan awarded damages under a number of headings including €806,221 for losses related to the Point Inn and a caravan park Mr Shortt had owned.
Some €550,000 was awarded for loss of profits, net of tax, at the nightclub. General damages of €500,000 for his time in jail were also included, along with €50,000 for exemplary damages.
But Mr Shortt's lawyers said €5,000 awarded for the harassment he suffered during the summer of 1992, the €50,000 and the €500,000 did not go far enough.
PA