Desmond James Doherty as executor of the estate of Bridget McGuigan Gallagher (Deceased) v Ministry of Defence
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | McAlinden J |
| Judgment Date | 02 April 2019 |
| Neutral Citation | [2019] NIQB 35 |
| Date | 02 April 2019 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2019] NIQB 35
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: McA10934
Delivered: 02/04/2019
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
_______
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
________
BETWEEN:
DESMOND JAMES DOHERTY
AS EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF
BRIDGET McGUIGAN GALLAGHER (DECEASED)
Plaintiff;
-and-
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Defendant.
________
McALINDEN J
[1] Mr Bernard McGuigan was born on 16th June, 1930. He was shot dead on 30th
January, 1972. He was the last person to be shot dead on Bloody Sunday. At the time
of his death he was 41 years old, he was a successful painter and decorator by trade,
he was a respected member of the community and was married with six children
aged between 16 and 6 years old. His widow Bridget McGuigan Gallagher initiated
these proceedings by Writ of Summons issued on 28th May, 2014, claiming damages
under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1937 on
behalf of the estate of her late husband and under the Fatal Accidents (Northern
Ireland) Order 1977. Mrs McGuigan Gallagher died before this Action came on for
hearing and the Action was continued in the name of the Executor of her Estate,
Mr Desmond Doherty, Solicitor.
[2] As I stated in my earlier judgment in the case of Michael Quinn, I do not
consider it necessary to set out in detail the events of that afternoon leading up to the
shooting of the Deceased because of the manner in which the Defendant has chosen
to meet and deal with this litigation and indeed all the cases brought by the
surviving victims and the relatives of the deceased victims of Bloody Sunday. The
Defendant accepts that this Deceased and indeed all the victims were innocent
victims and has admitted assault, battery and trespass to the person and has not
sought to raise any matter or issue by way of attempted justification for the actions
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2 cases
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William (Liam) Holden and Ministry of Defence and Chief Constable of The Police Service of Northern Ireland
...into consideration the recent decisions of McAlinden J in Quinn v Ministry of Defence [2018] NIQB 82 and Doherty v Ministry of Defence [2019] NIQB 35 and the decision of Cheema-Grubb J in Rees v Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis [2019] EWHC 2339 as approved by the Court of Appeal......
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Doherty, Desmond James as executor of the estate of Bridget McGuigan Gallagher (Deceased) and Ministry of Defence
...as “the Ministry”. [2] The appeal is against the judgment of McAlinden J (“the judge”) delivered on 02 April 2019 (neutral citation [2019] NIQB 35) and ensuing order. By his judgment the judge determined one discrete and contentious aspect of the Plaintiff’s claim relating to the quantum of......
1 firm's commentaries
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Aggravated Damages In Personal Injury Claims: Are They Ever Recoverable?
...damages. Almost all reported cases concerning exemplary and aggravated damages concern State bodies. For example Doherty v M O D [2019] NIQB 35 the circumstances in which it might be appropriate to award aggravated and/or exemplary damages were considered in a case arising out of the events......