AN 87-YEAR-OLD woman and her daughter, both of whom felt they had been accused of shoplifting from a Tesco store, have been awarded damages for defamation of character and false imprisonment.
Pensioner Helen Morrison, of St Mary’s Park, Leixlip, Co Kildare, and Mary Feeley, Riverdale, Leixlip, told the Circuit Civil Court yesterday of their embarrassment when neighbours passed by as they were checked out by security.
Barrister Siobhan Phelan, counsel for Mrs Morrison (87) and her daughter Mary, told the court how their shopping trip to Tesco’s in Maynooth, Co Kildare, in March 2005 had gone so wrong.
After paying for her shopping at the check-out Mrs Feeley had left her mother to wheel the trolley outside while she visited a separate counter to buy cigarettes.
As Mrs Morrison left the store the alarm went off and she had been detained outside by a security guard until her daughter joined her. Then Mrs Feeley had been brought back into the shop where it had been discovered a jacket Mrs Feeley had bought had not had the security tag removed at the check-out.
The court heard how Mrs Morrison had told her daughter: “You are going to be arrested,” as they stood outside the store. They had both noticed neighbours looking peculiarly at them as they passed by and had felt sure they would think they were guilty of shoplifting.
Security man Ciaran Kenny said he had apologised to the women for the store’s failure to remove the tag from the jacket.
Judge Alison Lindsay, awarding both women €7,500 damages each, said they had been wrongfully detained and defamed. It had been negligent of the store not to remove the security tag from the jacket.
“Mrs Feeley had paid for her goods and was entitled to take them away without any suggestion they had not paid for them,” she said.