Judge throws out fitness instructor’s €60k fall claim after seeing ‘extreme physical activity’ snaps on Instagram (via Independent.ie)

A 33-year-old fitness instructor, who claimed she injured her back in a fall down steps in a shopping centre, posted on-line pictures of herself engaged in extreme physical activities following the incident, a judge heard today.

Judge Sarah Berkeley in the Circuit Civil Court dismissed Kimberly Hynes’s €60,000 damages claim for personal injuries against the owner of Nutgrove Shopping Centre, Rathfarnham, where she said she had slipped on a wet stairs and bumped down three steps.

“I don’t believe her GP knew she was engaged in these activities and on the basis of the medical evidence of her own doctor she has exaggerated her injuries in court,” Judge Berkeley said. She threw out Hynes’s case and awarded legal costs against her.

To read the full story please visit:
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/judge-throws-out-fitness-instructors-60k-fall-claim-after-seeing-extreme-physical-activity-snaps-on-instagram-41865511.html

Amber Heard to appeal order to pay $10m in Depp defamation case (via The Guardian)

Heard to appeal court’s ruling ordering her to pay ex-husband Johnny Depp, which came at the conclusion of a high-profile trial

Amber Heard on Thursday appealed a Virginia court’s ruling ordering her to pay ex-husband Johnny Depp over $10m during a high-profile defamation trial that exposed the inner workings of their troubled marriage.

Heard’s lawyers filed documents in Fairfax county circuit court, where a six-week trial featured riveting testimony from both Heard and Depp. The document notifies the Virginia court of appeals that Heard intends to appeal the judgment, as well as rulings the judge made after the verdict, including rejecting Heard’s request to set aside the verdict and dismiss the lawsuit or order a new trial.

To read the full story please visit:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/21/amber-heard-to-appeal-order-10m-johnny-depp-defamation-case

Personal injury awards and legal fees fell during past decade, report finds (via Independent.ie)

Award levels in personal injury and medical negligence cases fell significantly during the past decade while legal fees also decreased, a report has shown.

The report, by consultants EY, said an analysis of data from more than 250 cases between 2011 and 2019 contradicted popular perceptions that awards increased significantly as well as the general narrative that litigation costs have been rising steadily.

It found the median award in personal injury and medical negligence cases fell by 12pc between 2011 and 2013 and 2017 and 2019.

Fees paid to barristers and solicitors across the cases examined fell by 10pc in the same time frame, even though the median duration of cases increased by almost a third.

EY also found a third of each bill of costs was paid to the State, either through court duty, which is currently 8.5pc, or the 23pc VAT on professional fees.

To read the full story please visit:
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/personal-injury-awards-and-legal-fees-fell-during-past-decade-report-finds-41859327.html