Postmistress who was victim of tiger kidnapping settles court action against An Post

High Court reporters

A postmistress who was the victim of a tiger kidnapping, tied up and told she would be shot has settled her action against An Post in the High Court.

Susan Lawlor from Malahide, who was the postmistress at Bayside Post Office in Dublin, was along with her daughter and an Italian student abducted from her home at gunpoint and driven around by her captors until the €80,000 contents of the post office safe were stolen in September 2014.

Ms Lawlor’s counsel Richard Kean SC, instructed by solicitor Daniel O’Connell, told the court on Tuesday that in all there were four sets of civil proceedings as a result of the events. Ms Lawlor’s two daughters and the Italian exchange student in the house at the time had also sued.

Elaine Morgan SC, counsel for An Post, told the court the four actions against An Post had been settled and could be struck out.

The settlements came after mediation talks spanning a number of days. The terms of the settlements are confidential.

Ms Justice Reynolds congratulated the parties on achieving a resolution.

Ms Lawlor (58), in her proceedings against An Post, claimed there was a failure to have regard to previous incidences of tiger kidnapping and a failure to follow the appropriate company protocols.

It was further claimed there was a failure to take any or any adequate precautions for the safety of Ms Lawlor and she had allegedly been phoned on her mobile to check if the alarm she had called in was valid.

All of the claims were denied and An Post contended that the postmistress was not an employee but an independent contractor.

At the opening of Ms Lawlor’s action before the High Court last year, Mr Kean SC said it was a truly extraordinary case where Ms Lawlor, when she heard armed robbers in her home, followed An Post protocol by phoning a hostage helpline which was meant to activate a covert response.

However, he said that as Ms Lawlor and the other two women were being driven around north Dublin in a car by the robbers, an An Post security officer rang her back and the robbers “went utterly ballistic”.

Mr Kean said there was a massive escalation in violence and Ms Lawlor was told by one robber “I am going to shoot you in the f***ing head.” She later thought they may be burned alive in the car as an accelerant was poured over it, and counsel said she pulled out some of her hair and spit on the car floor so she would leave her DNA sample.

Mr Kean told the court that tiger kidnappings were rampant in the country at the time and Ms Lawlor, when she heard the gang in her home, rang the hostage hotline. He said she was “loyally following protocol” but he said her alleged “negligent treatment by An Post has caused her life-long stress and anxiety”.

He said an expert on their side would say that Ms Lawlor’s condition was attributable to the tiger kidnapping and the phone call from the An Post worker which escalated aggression from the robbers.

An Post denied all the claims.