NIKITA Hand will sue Conor McGregor and her two former neighbours who the fighter had intended to call as witnesses in his unsuccessful appeal.
The hairdresser yesterday filed a new civil action against the former UFC champion as well as Samantha O’Reilly and Steven Cummins.
Nikita Hand is claiming civil damages against McGregor and her two former neighbours following the appealBrian Lawless/PA Wire
The court yesterday dismissed Conor McGregor’s appeal in civil rape caseBrian Lawless/PA Wire
It has been reported that she alleged they engaged in “malicious abuse” of the processes of the Court of Appeal.
The High Court action was filed yesterday, shortly after the Court of Appeal dismissed McGregor’s challenge to the outcome of a civil rape case Ms Hand won against him last year.
Ms Hand, 35, successfully sued McGregor in a civil court over an incident in which he was alleged to have “brutally raped and battered” her in the penthouse of the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford.
A jury of eight women and four men found him civilly liable for assault in November 2024 and Ms Hand was awarded €248,603.60 in damages.
In affidavits filed in support of McGregor’s appeal, Ms O’Reilly and Mr Cummins claimed they were former neighbours when she lived in Drimnagh.
Ms O’Reilly said she had witnessed a physical row between Ms Hand and her then-partner at about the same time of the incident at the Beacon hotel.
McGregor said this would have provided a “plausible explanation” for the bruising on Ms Hand’s body, which he claimed he did not cause.
Ms Hand denied any altercation with her former partner and the court heard she characterised the claims from Ms O’Reilly and Ms O’Reilly’s partner Steven Cummins as “lies”.
Earlier this month, McGregor’s legal team dramatically withdrew that ground of appeal, saying it would no longer be relying on the material.
In its ruling dismissing McGregor’s appeal, the Court of Appeal said the application to introduce the neighbours’ evidence had been dropped in “somewhat mysterious” circumstances.
It said that no plausible reason had been given for this turn of events.
Mr Justice Brian O’Moore said the abandonment of the application could be seen by the court only as an acknowledgment that Ms Hand was correct.
AWARDED COSTS
He said her lawyers had not been exaggerating when they said this “new evidence” had put Ms Hand through the wringer.
Mr Justice O’Moore said it was difficult to see why Ms Hand should have any liability for costs in respect to this aspect of the appeal.
She was awarded costs in this matter on a “legal practitioner and own client basis” – the highest possible basis on which a court can award costs.
The court also dismissed Mr McGregor’s remaining grounds of appeal in their entirety.
Yesterday, Ms Hand said the appeal had “retraumatised” her but she told how she could finally “move on” following the verdict.
She said: “This appeal has retraumatised me over and over again. Being forced to relive what happened has had a huge impact on me.
“To every survivor out there, I know how hard it is but please don’t be silenced. You deserve to be heard. You also deserve justice.
“Today I can finally move on and try to heal.”
McGregor would have to seek the permission of the Supreme Court to take a further appeal.
Nikita Hand speaking outside the High Court in November after the jury returned with their verdicts in the civil trial against McGregorBrian Lawless/PA Wire Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
