, it found Kenmare had not established the existence of any circumstances which would justify the court interfering with the finding of the jury as to the meaning of the press release that it was defamatory.It was satisfied there was no serious error in the manner in which the then High Court judge who heard the case,It was satisfied, however, that the trial judge erred in law in concluding the publication of the release took place on an occasion of qualified privilege.
It was further satisfied the manner of Mr Kinsella’s cross-examination did not justify the trial judge leaving open to the jury the possibility of the award of aggravated damages of €1 million which must also be set aside. Even if the question of aggravated damages fell to be considered by the jury, the award itself would have to be set aside as disproportionate.
It did not follow that because the awards for general and aggravated damages were disproportionate, perverse and unfair that the court should set aside jury findings in relation to any other issue. The court considered in full the evidence of Mr Kinsella in relation to the effect of the publication of the press release on all aspects of his life and recognised that any ward of damages to be made in his favour must also be sufficient to vindicate his reputation.