Kerwick not entitled to jury

THE High Court has ruled that rape victim Lavinia Kerwick is not entitled to have a combined libel, privacy and personal injury proceedings brought by her against the Sunday World heard before a jury.

The proceedings were due to be heard next week.

Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne ruled yesterday that the abolition of juries in personal injuries cases meant she was not entitled to have her combined proceedings heard before a jury.

The decision may be appealed to the Supreme Court, Ms Kerwick’s counsel Declan Doyle told the judge. Alternatively, he said, they may seek to have all three aspects of her action heard by a High Court judge sitting alone if one is available next week.

There was an urgency because of Ms Kerwick’s medical condition, he said.

The matter will be mentioned again before Ms Justice Dunne next Tuesday.

Ms Kerwick was raped in 1991 by William Conroy, whose nine-year suspended jail sentence caused an outcry. She waived her right to anonymity at Conroy’s sentencing.

In 2007, the Sunday World published an article which she claims defamed her, breached her privacy and inflicted emotional distress on her. She is seeking damages from Sunday Newspapers Ltd, trading as the Sunday World.

Ms Justice Dunne ruled yesterday that this was a case in which the separate causes of action flow from the same facts and circumstances. The personal injuries aspect was not subsidiary to the defamation claim, she said.