The Nancy court on Friday dismissed the widow and daughter of Judge Lambert, as well as the widow and sons of Bernard Laroche, who had sued France Télévisions for defamation after the broadcast of a report on the Grégory affair in 2018 .
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The court ruled that the report “
Grégory, the curse of the judges
”, broadcast on the program “
Complément d'études
” on September 6, 2018, did not “
undermine the honor or the consideration of Mr. Bernard Laroche, and therefore in his memory
”, according to the judgment consulted by AFP.
The claims for damages, which amounted to 70,000 euros for the widow of Bernard Laroche and 60,000 euros for each of his two sons, were therefore rejected.
Solicited, Me Gérard Welzer, the lawyer for the Laroche family, indicated that he was studying the possibility of appealing this decision.
In October, he had obtained the conviction of France Televisions for another report, broadcast by Special Envoy.
Concerning the summons formulated by the Lambert family, the court, on the contrary, considered that the “
comments and assessments
” made on the “
quality of the work
” accomplished by Judge Lambert and “
on his behavior
” “
undoubtedly undermine his honor and for his consideration
”.
They point out that Mr. Lambert is "
presented as having been particularly incompetent
" and "
inconsistent
".
Nevertheless, the magistrates considered that the authors of the report carried out a “
serious
” work, by pursuing a “
legitimate aim which consisted of informing the public
”.
They considered that "
the limits of freedom of expression have not been exceeded
", and therefore retained "
the exception of good faith
" to rule out any defamation.
The claims for damages from the widow and the daughter of Judge Lambert, who jointly claimed 60,000 euros, were therefore rejected.
Their lawyer, Me Béatrice Founès, told AFP to study the possibility of appealing.
"
France Televisions is satisfied with the judgment insofar as the quality and integrity of the report are recognized
", reacted to AFP Eric Andrieu, the group's lawyer.
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Nicknamed "
the little judge
", Jean-Michel Lambert was 32 when the corpse of Grégory Villemin, 4, was found on October 16, 1984, hand and foot in the Vologne region.
He was the first judge to investigate this case, before the case was entrusted to the Dijon Court of Appeal.
On July 11, 2017, he was found unconscious on July 11, 2017 at Le Mans, after expressing his intention to end his life.