Conor McGregor has lost his appeal of a civil jury’s verdict in favor of a woman who had accused him of rape.
The MMA fighter lost his appeal on all five grounds that the case was taken.
Civil Jury Found McGregor Liable for Assault
The woman successfully sued McGregor in a civil court for an encounter in which he was accused of having “brutally raped and battered” her in a penthouse in a south Dublin hotel in December 2018.
The jury determined that McGregor, who testified the court that he had a consensual sexual encounter with the woman, was liable for assault in a civil case.
The woman was granted 248,603.60 euro in compensation and McGregor was also ordered to pay around 1.3 million euro in legal fees after November’s trial.
Five Grounds of Appeal Filed—One Withdrawn
McGregor went on to appeal on grounds of five.
Among the reasons was new evidence after an affidavit from an ex-neighbour of the woman who claimed to have witnessed a physical altercation between her and her then-boyfriend at around the same time as the alleged incident at the Beacon hotel.
In the early part of this month, McGregor’s lawyers dramatically abandoned that ground of appeal, stating it would no longer be depending on the material.
McGregor’s appeal proceeded on other grounds, largely relating to the circumstances under which his “no comment” answers to gardai were allowed to enter the trial.
Co-Defendant Also Loses Legal Costs Appeal
Meanwhile, McGregor’s co-defendant has also lost his appeal against the trial judge’s decision not to award him his legal costs.
During the same trial in November, the jury did not find James Lawrence had assaulted the woman at the hotel.
But the trial judge ruled that she would not have to pay Mr Lawrence’s costs.
His lawyers claimed that ruling was incorrect and unreasonable, that the woman should pay because the jury did not find he had assaulted her.
Court of Appeal Dismisses Both Appeals
Handing down their judgment on Thursday, the three judges of the court – Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, Mr Justice Brian O’Moore and Mr Justice Patrick MacGrath – concurred to reject both appeals in their entirety.
Reciting the judgment on behalf of the three-judge panel, Mr Justice O’Moore outlined the grounds for appeal before outlining the Court of Appeal’s reasons for rejecting all five grounds.
“I therefore dismiss the appeal in its entirety,” he said.
Neither McGregor nor Mr Lawrence were present in court.
