Family accused of Dine and Dash gains massive solutions for slander

The bar for justice is high.

A good Irish family was given nearly $ 100,000 damages after being falsely charged with bypassing the bill in a UK bar.

“The charges were completely false,” Peter Girvan, the lawyer who represented the defendants, said during a court hearing on Belfast on Friday, the Daily Mail reported.

The incident took place in July 2024 after Peter and Ann McGirir, along with their children Peter Jr. And Carol, exploded for “shocking behavior” in a post on Facebook by management in Horse & Jockey in Tideswell, Derbyshire.

The bosses had reported that they had loaded the CCTV footage of the alleged Dine-And-and-Dashers, which they accused of leaving without paying their $ 200, the BBC reported.

Residents of Tyrone, who are reported to run a successful engineering firm, are said to have ordered 10-ons ribeye with all cuts, two bacon steaks and some cups Ale and Lager, for the Daily Mail.

These false charges were then circulated in at least four different newspaper reports, the court heard.

Angered by the wrong allegations, the family sued the horse and the knight for defamation on the grounds that these allegations caused severe discomfort and reputation damage.

“These articles contain serious and defamatory accusations that plaintiffs were engaged in dishonest and criminal behavior deliberately disappointing without resolving a receipt of approximately £ 150 (about $ 200),” Girvan said. “The plaintiffs were not engaged in any such behavior, and the statements made by the defendants had no factual basis.”

In compensation for the defamatory allegations, the lawyer was obliged to pay approximately $ 99,500 and also to pass the bill for the legal expenses of the defendants.

Horse and knight representatives also admitted that there were no “no basis” for the charges and apologized to the defendants.

In a statement read on behalf of the family outside the court, the McGirirrs lawyer said they were “justified” by the result and were “very pleased with the solution,” the Daily Mail reported.

Following the verdict, the daughter of the couple Carol McGirir expressed her relief on Facebook, saying, “10 months later .. Thank God that is over and our names have been cleared.”