Jurisdiction(s):
Ireland

Irish Court of Appeal permits joinder of Google; limitation for online defamation by hosts may accrue on notice, not clearly on first access

Published on: 17 March 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Ireland - Dispute Resolution expert

Legal News

Article summary

As noted in our July 2024 piece, the High Court in Gilroy and Byrne v O’Leary [2024] IEHC 349 interpreted s 11(3B) of the Statute of Limitations 1957 and determined that, in cases concerning material published on the Internet, a defamation cause of action accrues when the material first becomes capable of being seen or accessed. On that basis, the High Court declined the plaintiffs’ bid to add Google Ireland Ltd (Google) as a defendant in their defamation proceedings. The plaintiffs challenged that refusal in the Court of Appeal, which, in a judgment issued on 24 February 2025, set aside the High Court’s decision.

Facts

The appellants allege they were defamed by a YouTube video uploaded on 23 June 2018. Proceedings against the defendant commenced on 29 June 2018. On 12 December 2022, they applied to join Google as a defendant after an exchange of correspondence with Google during 2021 and 2022. While an application to add a further defendant does not have to be notified to that party, the appellants nonetheless served their High Court application on Google...

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