Schongau's mayor had to accept a defeat before the Munich regional court. His lawsuit against former CSU city councilor Michael Eberle was dismissed.
Schongau – “It’s to a certain extent about my credibility,” Sluyterman said in the oral hearing two weeks ago. That's why legal clarification is important to him. This now exists: On Thursday, the Munich regional court dismissed the Schongau mayor's lawsuit against ex-city councilor Michael Eberle. However, it is questionable whether the legal processing of the local elections in March 2020 is over.
Eberle (CSU) had contested both the city council election and the election of Sluyterman (SPD) as mayor. He based the challenge, among other things, on the fact that Sluyterman personally delivered postal voting documents and influenced voters. Eberle, Vice President of the Augsburg Regional Court, referred to an acquaintance who told him this.
The right to freedom of expression outweighs Sluyterman's interest in protecting his personality
And that's exactly what matters in the regional court's opinion: "The defendant consistently identified the allegations made as those that came from other people," says the reasons for the judgment, excerpts of which are available to our newspaper.
And further: “The defendant makes it clear in his statements that he does not consider the facts communicated to be established. Rather, the defendant's desire to have the unclear facts checked by the responsible authorities becomes clear.
During the trial, Sluyterman asserted that he had not cast any postal votes: “I didn’t do that.” At the heart of the legal dispute, however, was not the allegations themselves, but the question of whether the allegations had been brought to Eberle’s attention by a third party. Sluyterman was unable to prove that this was not the case, according to the verdict.
This is one reason why Eberle's right to freedom of expression outweighs Sluyterman's interest in protecting his personality. In addition, the city council at the time only made comments to those authorities “who, in the defendant’s legitimate opinion, were the contacts for his concerns”.
Mayor could appeal
It was the mayor himself who made the election challenge public in an interview with the Schongauer Nachrichten. Therefore, Sluyterman's applications for correction, injunction and compensation for pain and suffering were unsuccessful. He was unable to request a correction in the newspaper because it was not Eberle, but the publisher who decided what was printed.
Eberle's election challenge was just as unsuccessful as Sluyterman's criminal complaint against Eberle. The town hall boss could appeal the civil judgment that has now been handed down within a month. Immediately after the oral hearing, in which the dismissal of the lawsuit was already indicated, Sluyterman did not want to comment on whether he would do so.