A High Court jury has awarded a businessman €75,000 over a defamatory article in the Limerick Leader that said he was a tax defaulter.
William Bird (82), a director of William Bird Limerick Ltd and operator of the Stella Bingo Hall in Shannon Street, Limerick, sued Iconic Newspapers Ltd, publishers of the Limerick Leader, over an article in the paper in June 2016 listing tax settlements from a list published by the Revenue Commissioners.
The article, which came out in print on June 8th, 2016, stated: “Funfair/amusement activity operator William Bird, of Henry Street, reached three separate settlements for underdeclaration of corporation tax and VAT, underdeclaration of PAYE/PRSI and VAT, and underdeclaration of corporation tax, in relation to three companies under his name. In total, the monies paid to Revenue in his case amounted to €183,595.”
A jury decided on Wednesday, after deliberating for more than 3½ hours, that those words could be reasonably understood by readers of the article as referring to Mr Bird.
It also found that those words meant Mr Bird was responsible for underdeclarations of liability to pay taxes and pay-related social insurance by three of his companies which resulted in three separate settlements by him and a payment to Revenue of €183,595.
It awarded him €75,000 in general damages.
Mr Justice Alexander Owens thanked the members of the jury and exempted them from having to serve again on a jury for 10 years.
Mr Bird, of Castleconnell, Co Limerick, claimed the article falsely meant, among other things, he was a tax defaulter, had submitted false or fraudulent tax returns and was of low moral character.
He claimed that as a result of the article, people in the village of Castleconnell, Co Limerick, where he lives, had avoided him and he had withdrawn from going out in his locality the way he had previously.
Iconic denied defamation and argued, among other things, that the article did not concern Mr Bird.
The court heard the Bird family was well known as a travelling funfair and amusement business and has run the Funderland fair in the RDS over the years.
Mr Bird was one of four brothers who worked with their father in the business and in 1994 Mr Bird transferred most of his interest in the Bird companies and was involved in only one: William Bird Limerick Ltd, which operated the Stella Bingo Hall.
The newspaper article stated settlements had been with three William Bird companies that he did not have anything to do with, Mr Bird’s side argued.