Woman loses €75k defamation claim over 'upset' caused by being asked if she paid for Bag for Life

A €75,000 damages claim for defamation, over whether a Marks and Spencer customer had paid for a €1 shopping bag, was described by a judge today as "over the top".

Judge John O’Connor said in the Circuit Civil Court that a store check-out operator asking someone if they had paid for a bag did not give rise to a defamation action nor did becoming upset at such a question justify a claim.