|
Douglas, Zeta-Jones privacy case could set legal precedent
2006-11-22
A claim for intrusion of privacy by Hollywood super-couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones went to Britain's House of Lords, in a case which could set a landmark precedent. Just a few days after their sixth wedding anniversary, lawyers for the star pair joined forces with celebrity weekly OK! -- which bought the rights to cover their nuptials -- against rival star magazine Hello!. Hello! secretly took pictures of their New York wedding in November 2000, despite the deal under which OK! had paid one million dollars for exclusive pictures of the Plaza Hotel ceremony. Media lawyers say that if OK! wins by successfully arguing there was a right of confidentiality, then a new law protecting the image of person would be created in Britain. Zeta Jones told the 2003 High Court hearing she felt "devastated, shocked and appalled" when she realised unauthorised photographers had gatecrashed her high-security wedding. The 14,600-pound (21,600-euro, 27,700-dollar) damages awarded to Douglas and his wife by the High Court for the distress and inconvenience the Hello! coverage caused them was not challenged at the Court of Appeal. Hello! will argue during the five-day hearing that any confidentiality ceased after OK! published the photographs.
|
