Tabloid denied access to model's files

The High Court has ruled the Sunday World is not entitled to an order requiring model Andrea Roche to discover any material she may have relating to any contact between her and the late socialite Katy French shortly before her death.

Ms Roche is suing the Sunday World for libel over an article published on December 9th 2007. She alleges she was defamed when the paper wrongly claimed she was to be interviewed by gardai over Ms French's death, which had occurred days earlier.

French died in hospital on December 6th 2007, just days after collapsing in a friend’s home in Co Meath.

The Sunday World had asked the Master of the High Court to order Ms Roche to make discovery of any documents, including phone records, relating to any contact between her and Ms French 48 hours before her death.

The Master refused to do so and his decision was upheld today by the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns.

The newspaper had sought an order requiring discovery of all notes, statements and/or memos concerning any statements or correspondence between Ms Roche and gardai in relation to the circumstances surrounding French's collapse and death.

The paper had also sought documents detailing the social relationship between Ms Roche and Kieron Ducie, in whose home French collapsed. It further sought any material detailing the social relationship between Ms Roche and a car dealer, Lee Cullen, who was also named in the article.

Dismissing the application, Mr Justice Kearns said the paper had met the threshold for discovery in relation to its claim that the article was in the public interest.

However, it had not met the threshold in relation to its second claim it had acted responsibly and published the article within the requirements of good journalistic practice, the judge said.

While there may have been contact between the individuals named in the article, and he was not saying there was, the discovery application might be seen as an “ad hoc justification of certain matters”, the judge said.

As had been argued before the court, where justification for publication is relied on, a defendant was not entitled to “go fishing” for other matters through discovery, the judge said.

It seemed the essence of what was being sought here was information which might affect the evidence (in the libel case) and provide some sort of justification for the manner in which the article was researched, the judge added.