Two solicitors have been awarded €80,000 damages by a High Court jury after it found they were libelled by the showing of their practice's letterhead during an RTÉ Prime Timeprogramme on bogus and exaggerated compensation claims.
Brothers Paul (52) and Brendan (48) Byrne claimed their reputations had been damaged as a result of the Prime Time programme of March 27th, 2003.
They said the featuring of the letterhead meant that Prime Time had accused them of bringing bogus claims and that they were dishonest and guilty of unethical conduct.
The jury of five men and seven women found unanimously that a reasonable viewer of the broadcast, familiar with their firm's logo or letterhead, would identify them.
They also found, by majority verdict, that this meant that the Byrnes were responsible for bringing bogus personal injury claims, which was untrue.
Afterwards, Paul Byrne expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the case, but declined to comment further.
The Byrnes, practising as B and P Byrne, Tyrconnell Road, Inchicore, Dublin, brought the action over the programme entitled Sue Nation, during which a claims handler for CIÉ alleged the legal profession was encouraging bogus claims for personal injuries.
During his interview, the claims handler had opened a file in which, the Byrnes claimed, their letterhead was clearly visible.
RTÉ had denied the headed notepaper was visible or recognisable in the footage and pleaded that the shot of it was fleeting.
The court was shown the full programme and, in a section focusing on the legal profession, CIÉ claims investigator Pat Kelly said a list was kept by Dublin Bus of solicitors who were responsible for bringing bogus or unmeritorious claims.
Mr Kelly spoke about large advertisements in the Golden Pages which, in his view, encouraged people to take claims, particularly where they are offered a "no foal, no fee" option, in which the claimant only pays the lawyer if they win the case.
When asked what did he make of this, Mr Kelly said some solicitors' firms had a lot to answer for and deserved a serious "rap on the knuckles" for wasting court time.
He went on to say that when claims come in on the headed notepaper of certain solicitors, CIÉ dealt with them very carefully and everything had to be checked, rechecked and "nailed down".
He was shown opening a file which, RTÉ conceded, showed the Byrne letterhead but which the station said was too fleeting to be recognised.
The court heard evidence from eight witnesses who saw the programme on the night and all said they immediately recognised the Byrne firm's distinctive logo.
The witnesses included a Circuit Court judge, Judge Gerard Griffin, and a barrister, Patrick O'Reilly BL.
Although the Byrnes did not see Prime Time that night, Paul Byrne told the court he had received a number of calls asking him did he see the programme about "dodgy solicitors".
When he saw a tape of the programme a month later, Paul Byrne said he was "stunned" by it.
Mr Byrne said while his firm had a small number of claims against Dublin Bus over the years, they had never received any complaints about the way they dealt with them.
Brendan Byrne told the court he considered RTÉ's response to their request for an apology to be "condescending".
RTÉ had offered to give the Byrnes a letter saying the programme did not refer to them, he said.
He was "horrified" by the programme, he said.
He said the programme was an attack on a profession he was very proud of and their firm being put at the top of such a programme was "unbelievable". He felt they had no choice but to take legal action.
RTÉ did not call evidence in the case. Legal submissions concluded yesterday afternoon after which Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne charged the jury.
She said that, in reviewing the programme, they should not "freeze frame" the section where the file is being opened but look at it as they would normally view the programme.
After deliberating for almost three hours yesterday, the jury returned with their verdict.
Costs were awarded to the Byrnes.