Mariló Montero received an unexpected legal setback. The Provincial Court of Madrid overturned the sentence of last December which condemned the paparazzi company Diego Arrabal (51 years old) and Gustave González (56) pay compensation of 265,000 euros to the ex-wife of Charles Herrera.
Mariló Montero and Carlos Herrera together. / Gtres
In this way, it was reflected in the judicial resolution, dated mid-July and in which the magistrate Juana de la Cruz Serrano, accepts the “suspension” of the civil proceedings pending the instruction court number 30 of Barcelona issued a criminal conviction for the same facts. This was confirmed by the newspaper The Spaniardwho had access to civil resolution.
Diego Arrabal at an event ./ Gtres
In this new context, the company Diegus SL. obtains a small victory in the appeal that the paparazzi had presented against the sentence which condemned them to pay the substantial compensation to the journalist for the photographs they had taken of her during a vacation.
Gustavo González in an archive image. / Gtres
Currently, the courts are analyzing the coexistence of the civil procedure with the criminal procedure of the Court of Barcelona. It was precisely the latter that began after Mariló Montero’s complaint was admitted for processing the alleged crimes of discovery and disclosure of secrets against the paparazzi and their business. Carlos Herrera’s ex-wife is asking for a prison sentence and disqualification for the two professionals.
Mariló Montero during a photocall in Madrid. / Gtres
In addition, in the context of the criminal proceedings, Mariló also requests an additional 215,000 euros in civil liability for the moral damage caused by the reported events and 6,000 euros from the sick leave she had to take due to the state of anxiety which this situation has caused. . For the moment, the judges of the Provincial Court have concluded that the two trials revolve around the same facts, for which they have decided to declare the nullity of the actions of civil procedure and leave the sentence without effect.
However, the journalist had argued that the object of the two cases, as well as the parties were different, since the lawsuit is directed against Diegus SL and the complaint, against the company and the two paparazzi. However, the Court clarified that whatever the differences between the parties, the object or the amounts claimed, there is no doubt that the facts are the same.
Civil Procedure
It was last December that the Court of First Instance number 35 of Madrid decided to grant the request of Mariló Montero and found that she had suffered an “illegitimate interference in the right to privacy and to her own image”. The resolution noted that unauthorized photographs were taken during the journalist’s vacation in the Maldives and Bora Bora, at two different times.
Following this, the Court determined the journalist’s compensation for the damages resulting from these reports: 50,000 for the images in the Maldives, 75,000 for those of Bora Bora, another 50,000 for the “damages resulting from the exposure in the media” of images of Polynesia, as well as 90,000 for “false insinuations about their sexual condition”.
Mariló Montero at a wedding. / Gtres
The reports were made in two different shifts. A family trip to the Maldives which was published in January 2015, and a second trip to Bora Bora with a childhood friend. These last images were taken in a resort with a private beach and although they never saw the light of day, they have been commented on.