Summary of Judgment - Court Dismisses Appeal Against Bloody Sunday Damages
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Neutral Citation | Summary of Judgment - Court Dismisses Appeal Against Bloody Sunday Damages |
| Court | Court of Judicature (NI) |
| Date | 06 February 2020 |
Judicial Communications Office
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6 February 2020
COURT DISMISSES APPEAL AGAINST BLOODY SUNDAY
DAMAGES
Summary of Judgment
The Court of Appeal
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today dismissed an appeal by the Ministry of Justice against the award of
£15,000 compensatory damages and aggravated damages to the widow of Bernard McGuigan who
was shot dead on Bloody Sunday.
Factual Background
Bernard McGuigan (“the deceased”) was the last person to be shot dead on Bloody Sunday, 30
January 1972. He was one of several civilians kneeling or crouching beside a telephone kiosk and a
gable wall of Rossville Flats, Londonderry, taking shelter from military fire. Other civilians were
killed or wounded close by. Based on the Report of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry the deceased was
trying to move away to seek better cover and/or to signal to soldiers that he and others posed no
threat to anyone and was waving a piece of towelling. He was shot in the head by a soldier at a
distance of 35 yards and died instantly. He was unarmed.
The deceased’s widow, Bridget McGuigan Gallagher (“the plaintiff”), initiated proceedings in 2014
claiming damages on behalf of the estate of her late husband under the Fatal Accidents (Northern
Ireland) Order 1977. The plaintiff died before this action came on for hearing and it was continued
in the name of the Executor of her estate. On 2 April 2019, Mr Justice McAlinden (“the trial judge”)
determined that the plaintiff was entitled to compensatory damages and aggravated damages as the
remedies for the assault and battery of the deceased and assessed these damages as amounting to
£15,000
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. The Ministry of Defence (“the Ministry”) appealed against the award of these damages.
The Main Ground of Appeal
The main issue in the appeal was whether aggravated damages could as a matter of law be awarded
in the circumstances in which Mr McGuigan’s death had occurred. An award of aggravated
damages is legally permissible only where two conditions are satisfied:
There must be exceptional or contumelious conduct or motive on the part of the tortfeasor in
committing the wrong or subsequent to its commission; and
The plaintiff must suffer mental distress as a result.
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The panel was Lord J ustice McCloskey, Mr Justice Colton and Sir Richard M cLaughlin. Lord Justice
McCloskey delivered the judgment of the court.
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The final Order of the court awarded judgment for the plaintiff against the Ministry in the global sum of
£264,985 together with costs. Enforcement of the judgment i n respect of the discrete award of £15,000 was
stayed pending the appeal.
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