In the last instance, the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg (judgment of 02.02.2017 – 7 U 32/15) dismissed the Funke Mediengruppe’s appeal and awarded Corinna Schumacher monetary compensation in the amount of 60,000 euros.
The image of Corinna Schumacher in the tabloid press
In December 2013, the Funke Media Group published pictures of Corinna Schumacher in magazines such as “Frau aktuell”, “Frau im Spiegel” and “Die Aktuelle”.
The pictures show Corinna Schumacher on her way to hospital after her husband’s accident.
Amount of compensation depends on the degree of injury
The amount of compensation now awarded by the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg depends on the degree of infringement of personality rights.
Even after Ms. Schumacher’s lawyers had obtained temporary injunctions and declarations to cease and desist, the media group continued to stubbornly publish the photos.
In addition, not just one, but a total of nine images were published.
Ms. Schumacher clearly did not present herself to the public
In principle, the publication of images from the field of contemporary history is permissible (Section 23 (1) no. 1 KUG).
However, this is not the case if the publication of the images violates the legitimate interest of the person depicted.
This exception is particularly relevant if the person is not visibly presenting themselves to the public (Section 23 (2) KUG).
A total of €120,000 in compensation for the Schumacher family
Back in January 2017, Funke Mediengruppe was ordered to pay monetary compensation of 2 x 30,000 euros to the Schumacher family (OLG Hamburg, judgment of 17.01.2017 – 7 U 32/15).
At the time, the Funke media group spread a rumor on the front page of “Die Aktuelle” that Michael and Corinna Schumacher were separating.
According to the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, this constituted a serious violation of personal rights, as incorrect facts about the highly personal circumstances of the family were published.
It should be noted that the media often acted rashly when reporting on Michael Schumacher’s accident without respecting the rights of those affected.
In particular, the persistence of reporting and the disregard of interim injunctions, warnings and cease-and-desist orders led to high monetary damages.