Mother and daughter awarded €45k after shoplifting accusation

A mother and daughter were yesterday awarded €45,000 in defamation damages after they were falsely accused of shoplifting from a Dunnes Stores outlet in Limerick.

Mary McNamara and her daughter, Tamara, from Murroe, Co Limerick, had gone to Dunne Stores at the Parkway Shopping Centre on May 3, 2008, to buy a Confirmation outfit.

Limerick Circuit Court heard that when they could not get what they wanted they left without making a purchase. They were approached by a Dunnes Stores security man on the concourse who asked them to return to the store, saying they had left without paying for a garment.