A 25-year-old man has lost a €60,000 damages claim for personal injury in the Circuit Civil Court after he was 'betrayed' by his Facebook page.
Jason Shelly now faces a substantial legal bill.
He had claimed that in April 2014, he had been a passenger in a car which collided with a vehicle driven by John Costello. He alleged he had still been suffering intermittent lower back pain a year after the incident.
The court heard that Shelly, of Abbey Park Grove, Clane, Co Kildare, attended the emergency department of the Mater Hospital in Dublin, two days after the crash, complaining of lower back pain, headaches, dizziness and difficulty sleeping.
Barrister Shane English, for Mr Costello, of Forest Gate, Woodbrook, Portarlington, Co Laois, told the court that Shelly had commented on his own Facebook page between May and December 2014 about his cycling performances.
Mr English told Judge Jacqueline Linnane during Shelly's cross examination that the comments, since deleted, referred in particular to cycling races.
The court heard that on one occasion, Shelly commented about having cycled for more than four hours.
Following Shelly’s evidence, Mr English made an application to the court to dismiss the claim.
Judge Linnane threw out Shelly’s claim and awarded legal costs against him.