Conor McGregor has lost his appeal in a civil sexual assault case brought against him by Dublin resident Nikita Hand. The prominent MMA fighter had challenged the initial verdict on five grounds, but the court ultimately dismissed all of his arguments.
Ms. Hand, aged 35, successfully pursued her claims in a civil court, alleging that McGregor `brutally raped and battered` her in a penthouse suite at a South Dublin hotel in December 2018. Despite McGregor`s assertion that the sexual encounter was consensual, the jury found him civilly liable for assault.
Following the November trial, Ms. Hand was awarded €248,603.60 in damages. Additionally, McGregor was ordered to cover substantial legal costs, amounting to approximately €1.3 million. It was after this judgment that McGregor initiated his appeal, outlining five specific points of contention.
Among the initial grounds for appeal was new evidence presented through an affidavit from Samantha O`Reilly, a former neighbor of Ms. Hand. O`Reilly claimed to have witnessed a physical altercation between Ms. Hand and her then-partner around the same timeframe as the incident at the Beacon hotel. However, earlier this month, McGregor`s legal team made a surprising move, withdrawing this specific ground of appeal and stating they would no longer rely on that material.
Consequently, McGregor`s appeal proceeded on other grounds, primarily focusing on the circumstances under which his `no comment` responses to An Garda Síochána (Irish police) were permitted as evidence during the initial trial.
In a related development, McGregor`s co-defendant, James Lawrence, also had his appeal dismissed. Lawrence had challenged the trial judge`s decision not to award him legal costs, despite the jury not finding him guilty of assaulting Ms. Hand at the hotel during the same November trial. The trial judge had ruled that Ms. Hand would not be required to cover Mr. Lawrence`s costs. His legal team contested the correctness and reasonableness of this ruling, arguing that Ms. Hand should be liable for the expenses given the jury`s verdict.
On Thursday, a panel of three presiding judges—Ms. Justice Isobel Kennedy, Mr. Justice Brian O`Moore, and Mr. Justice Patrick MacGrath—delivered their judgment, unanimously concurring in the complete dismissal of both appeals. Mr. Justice O`Moore, reading the judgment on behalf of the panel, provided a summary of the appeal grounds before meticulously detailing the Court of Appeal`s rationale for rejecting all five points.
“I therefore dismiss the appeal in its entirety,” Mr. Justice O`Moore affirmed.
Following the delivery of the judgment, Ms. Hand was visibly comforted and supported by her advocates present in court. Neither Conor McGregor nor Mr. Lawrence were in attendance for the court session.
