Bainisteoir idea was Looney’s, says judge

A HIGH Court judge said yesterday he was satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt that Daily Mail columnist Fiona Looney was the originator of the idea behind the RTÉ series Celebrity Bainisteoir and dismissed a case against both her and RTÉ alleging they had stolen the idea.

Businessman Patrick Kinsella, of Callohiill, Newtown, Co Wicklow, who was not legally represented, claimed he had submitted the original idea entitled Top Coach/Top Team to RTÉ in August 2007.

Evidence was given by Ms Looney and a number of RTÉ witnesses that the idea was first submitted to the television station by the journalist in 2004.

Both RTÉ and Ms Looney denied the allegations they had stolen Mr Kinsella’s concept for the programme.

At the end of a seven-day case yesterday, Mr Justice George Birmingham said he was fully satisfied the idea was Ms Looney’s and her’s alone and she was entitled to have that recognised.

The judge said it was a deeply unfortunate case and a case where blind obsession had overwhelmed judgment and common sense.

The first programme of Celebrity Bainisteoir had gone out on March 30, 2008. While Mr Kinsella had not seen it, he had been told about it by a friend who was aware he had been working on a sports reality television programme.

After viewing the programme he engaged in correspondence with RTÉ and issued legal proceedings in February 2009.

Mr Justice Birmingham said it had been contended that if RTÉ had been up front at an earlier stage the proceedings might not have gone to trial. This suggestion was utterly without substance. The truth was RTÉ had supplied Mr Kinsella with an affidavit that established conclusively the idea was first submitted to them by Ms Looney in 2004 — three years before the plaintiff had considered a sports reality programme.

Referring to several witnesses called by Mr Kinsella over the seven days of the hearing, the judge said: “Each witness called made it clear there was no merit whatsoever in his claims. Each witness had copper-fastened the defendants’ position.”

Mr Justice Birmingham said he was quite satisfied that Ms Looney was the originator of the idea for the television series in 2004 and presented it to RTÉ in that year. “I am satisfied of that fact beyond all reasonable doubt”, he said.

The judge added that the litigation was misconceived and oppressive and Mr Kinsella’s conduct had been vexatious and amounted to a clear abuse of the law.

The case should not have been taken and should never have been conducted in the way it was.

After the judgment, Paul O’Higgins, for RTÉ, and counsel for Ms Looney, Marian McKeone, sought an Isaac Wunder order which prevents litigants from making further claims without first securing High Court approval. The judge said while he could fully understand why the application was made, it would be very unusual to do so in a case where a litigant had failed in just one set of proceedings and he did not propose to make such an order at this stage.

Costs were granted to the defendants and Mr Kinsella indicated he would appeal.