Courts

Three men lose €75,000 defamation actions over question about unpaid restaurant bill

Judge finds staff member at Halfway House, Dublin 7 acted without malice when he inquired about payment as group went to smoking area

Counsel for the operators of the Halfway House in Dublin 7 said every retail establishment had a right to inquire of any customer as to whether they had paid the bill. Photograph: Alamy/PA
Counsel for the operators of the Halfway House in Dublin 7 said every retail establishment had a right to inquire of any customer as to whether they had paid the bill. Photograph: Alamy/PA
Ray Managh
Tue Feb 20 2024 - 15:49

Three men who claimed they were wrongly accused of attempting to leave a Dublin 7 restaurant without paying for their food have each lost €75,000 claims for defamation of character and been ordered to pay the establishment’s legal bill.

Judge Jennifer O’Brien said in the Circuit Civil Court on Tuesday that while she accepted defamatory words were spoken by the manager of The Halfway House in Ashtown, the court did not consider that he did so recklessly or with malice.

Conor Kearney, counsel for Springdale Inns Limited, which trades as The Halfway House, told the court every retail establishment had a right to inquire of any customer as to whether they had “paid the bill”.

He said manager Robert Hamilton did not have a specific memory of having engaged with any group of three customers in December 2020, but accepted, when the case arose, that he had questioned one man if he intended leaving the premises with others before paying for food.

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Mr Hamilton said that after asking if the bill had been paid, one of the men said they were just walking out to a smoking area and that their jackets were still hanging on the backs of their chairs. He checked and saw the men’s jackets were still at their table and later, when the men were leaving, he apologised for his error.

Mr Hamilton, who said he had been with the company for 30 years, denied shouting across the bar and restaurant: “Where do you lot think you are off to? Get back here, you haven’t paid your bill.” He told Judge O’Brien there were other people nearby who would have heard him asking if the bill had been paid.

Judge O’Brien dismissed the claims of Finglas residents Niall Hanley, of Abbottstown Avenue; Gavin Mooney, of Barry Close, and Aaron Hutch, of Virginia Drive. He directed they pay the defendant’s legal costs.

The judge said the court accepted Mr Hamilton’s evidence that he had not shouted, had attempted to rectify the situation afterwards and had apologised.

“The court is satisfied Mr Hamilton took reasonable steps to address the situation and had made an honest mistake,” Judge O’Brien said. “There has been no evidence of malice.”

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