The Court of Appeal has refused John O’Connor permission to reopen a final judgment dismissing his defamation and malicious falsehood case against the Legal Aid Board.
The court delivered its ruling on July 22, 2025. O’Connor had previously lost an appeal arising from a Legal Aid Board letter of July 27, 2018. His case alleged that the letter was defamatory because it said an independent solicitor’s report was needed before professional negligence proceedings he had brought against solicitors could progress.
The High Court had dismissed that claim on the basis that the statement was not reasonably capable of a defamatory meaning. The Court of Appeal upheld that decision in February 2025 and later made a final order dismissing the appeal with costs.
O’Connor then sought to vary or rescind the judgment. He also challenged Court of Appeal Practice Direction CA14, which requires an applicant seeking review of a final judgment to pass a preliminary leave stage.
The court rejected his objections to that procedure. It said final Court of Appeal decisions are ordinarily conclusive and may be reviewed only in the most exceptional circumstances, where an applicant can show a clear denial of justice and breach of constitutional rights through no fault of their own. The court said CA14 provides a lawful screening mechanism intended to avoid unnecessary court time and costs.
Turning to O’Connor’s substantive complaints, the court found that most sought to reopen arguments already determined. It rejected his contention that opinions obtained from senior counsel were equivalent to independent expert reports and said those opinions were irrelevant to whether the 2018 letter was capable of a defamatory meaning.
The panel did identify one factual error in its February judgment concerning the source of earlier “reasonable grounds” for O’Connor’s professional negligence proceedings, along with a typographical date error. Both will be corrected, but the court said neither affected its reasoning or conclusion.
Leave to bring the review application was refused.