A CO Donegal man has been left with a massive legal bill after failing in a bid to sue Gardai for assault.
Bernard McHugh from Carrigart had claimed that guards used unreasonable force when they dragged him from his van.
However a judge has ruled that the 24-year-old, from Upper Tullagh, didn’t have a case.
He had refused to move his illegally parked vehicle when requested to do so by Gardai, who then forcibly removed him from the van.
McHugh had sued An Garda Siochana for €38,000 in damages.
But Judge Matthew Deery ruled that, in the circumstances, gardai had been “using reasonable force” at the time.
Judge Deery said medical reports submitted to the circuit court showed his injuries to be not of any great consequence.
While he had been legally parked, his van had become a focal point for others causing difficulties on the footpath for the gardai, the judge said.
He dismissed McHugh’s claim and directed that he pay the State’s legal costs, estimated to be €20,000.