Mittwoch, 30.01.2019
Compensation for pain and suffering under the GDPR - General Data Protection Regulation
from
Dr. jur. Dirk LindloffLawyer
Specialist lawyer for intellectual property law
Specialist lawyer for information technology law
Give me a call: 0261 - 404 99 45
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Background
A few days after the GDPR came into force, the defendant we represent wrote to all customers of its online shop asking for consent to receive the email newsletter. This message was also sent to customers who had never given their consent.
The plaintiff (a lawyer) sent a written warning. The defendant did not respond. The plaintiff then filed a lawsuit with the Regional Court of Koblenz for an injunction, information and damages of no less than €500. The district court deemed the amount in dispute to be less than €5,000 and referred the case to the local court in Diez. The defendant acknowledged the cease-and-desist request. She provided information. In addition, €50 in damages was acknowledged.
Background
We had agreed with the client that no damages for pain and suffering might have to be paid. At the same time, however, we and the client wanted to make it very clear how little we consider the plaintiff's impairment to be. Therefore, €50 was recognized.
The judgment of the District Court of Diez
The District Court of Diez actually indicates in the grounds for the judgment that it already has concerns as to whether non-pecuniary damages should be awarded at all in this case. A violation of regulations alone does not directly lead to compensation. Furthermore, no damages are to be awarded for trivial offenses.
In any case, the court does not consider a higher compensation for pain and suffering than €50 to be appropriate for a single e-mail.
You can view the full text of the judgment as a PDF.
The statements represent initial information that was current for the law applicable in Germany at the time of initial publication. The legal situation may have changed since then. Furthermore, the information provided cannot replace individual advice on a specific matter. Please contact us for this purpose.