A Dublin man was awarded €15,000 damages against an insurance company in the Circuit Civil Court.
Michael Collins had asked the court to assess compensation against FBD Insurance, which had earlier been found by the Data Protection Commissioner to have breached the Data Protection Acts.
It was the first time the Circuit Court had been asked to assess damages in the area of data protection law.
The commissioner had held that FBD failed to provide full documentation to Mr Collins, a member of the Traveller community, relating to a claim he made about a stolen work van.
FBD had refused to pay out on the claim because Mr Collins allegedly failed to disclose a previous criminal conviction on his policy proposal form.
Barrister Andrew Robinson said Mr Collins, of Mellowes Park, Finglas, Dublin, had challenged FBD’s contention that the proposal form contained any inquiry relating to criminal convictions. He had alleged the form had sought information relevant only to road traffic convictions.