Former Rehab CEO Angela Kerins awarded two-thirds of her legal costs
Angela Kerins has been awarded two thirds of legal costs incurred during her case against members of the 2014 Public Accounts Committee.
The former CEO of the Rehab Group successfully argued that her failed legal action against them raised issues of “special and general public importance”.
Angela Kerins lost her case in January following a10-day hearing, during which she accused members of the 2014 Public Accounts Committee of subjecting her to a “witch-hunt” through two hearings that year.
She revealed she was so overwhelmed after the first that she tried to take her own life and was unable to attend the one that followed.
The court accepted that much of what was said to her was “damaging to her reputation both personally and professionally” but ruled against her after deciding the utterances made were protected by privilege.
On the issue of costs, the court decided it appropriate to depart from the normal rule whereby the loser pays because she’d raised issues of special and general public importance including questions of freedom of speech in parliament and the separation of powers.
As a result, she only has to pay a third of her legal costs and PAC has to pick up the rest of the bill.
A stay was put on the order in case there is an appeal.
