Court Orders Dublin Resident to Pay €40,000 for Defamatory Online Reviews

A Dublin resident has been instructed by the High Court to pay €40,000 in damages to a plumbing company due to defamatory reviews he posted online. The man, James Manning, residing in Rathfarnham, Dublin, was identified as having posted damaging reviews about Stillorgan Gas Heating and Plumbing Ltd, based in Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, through Trustpilot and Google reviews in February 2022. Two of these reviews, containing false accusations of the company being ‘fraudulent’, were taken down within a day, while the other two were removed four days later.

Details of the Case

Mr Manning did not present a defense against the company’s action, and a default judgment was given by the High Court in October due to his absence. The case was later presented before Mr Justice Conleth Bradley for damages assessment. The judge concluded this week that the company deserved to receive €40,000 in damages for the defamation.

Events Leading to the Defamation

The defamatory reviews were posted soon after the plumbing company serviced the gas boiler at a property in Ranelagh, owned by Mr Manning’s sister and managed by him. A disagreement arose over the cost of the service, which amounted to €1,190, leading Mr Manning to refuse payment. This resulted in the company removing the installed equipment. Mr Manning later hired another plumber who resolved the issue for €794. He subsequently posted four reviews on the internet, accusing the company of being ‘fraudsters’, ‘gangsters’, and ‘incompetents’.

Impact on the Company

Dara Keogh, the owner of the company, informed the court that these allegations were detrimental to his firm’s reputation. After assessing the evidence, Mr Justice Bradley ruled that the posts were indeed defamatory. Following Supreme Court guidelines, he deemed the defamation as moderately severe, thus justifying the €40,000 award to the company. The case was brought up again on Wednesday to address the question of costs, but Mr Manning did not appear. The judge has postponed the matter for two weeks.