Lawyers acting for the eight newspapers sued for libel by Ian Bailey will seek their costs in Cork Circuit Court today.
Mr Bailey lost his case against six of the eight newspapers in a judgment delivered by Judge Patrick Moran last month. The issue of costs was adjourned.
He sued the newspapers who published articles saying he was a violent man and was the main suspect in the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. The judge found these statements justified.
Judge Moran found Mr Bailey had been libelled by two of the newspapers, the Sun and the Irish Mirror, in articles which said he had been violent towards his former wife. He found that no evidence had been brought forward to support this, and awarded him €4,000 against each of them.
Lawyers for Mr Bailey are likely to argue he is entitled to his costs from these two newspapers. However, the papers are likely to argue that these claims made up only a small segment of the articles, and, if they are to pay any of his costs, these should be a small portion, as most of their claims were found to be justified.
The other newspapers are likely to be awarded their costs.However, it is believed Mr Bailey has no assets, so it is unlikely they will be able to collect their costs. It is also unlikely that he will be able to pay his own lawyers if he is not awarded some costs against the Sun and the Irish Mirror.
It is not necessary for Mr Bailey to be in court as these will be legal arguments between lawyers.