Defamatory review outcome quashed

A jury verdict that a restaurant review in the Irish News was libellous has been overturned by Judges at the Belfast Court of Appeal.

Ciaran Convery, owner of the ‘Goodfellas’ restaurant, had said the review was a "hatchet job," he was quoted by the Guardian as saying yesterday: "In my eyes it makes a farce of the judicial system when a jury is overturned... It's not over yet. It was never about the damages anyway."

The appeals court left the option of a retrial open, but it is up to Convery to pursue one, and the Irish News has said they will defend any further action.

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