Ban against YouTube advertising video of an “investor protection law firm” also confirmed in the main proceedings
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The Regional Court of Hamburg (LG Hamburg, Urteil v. 15.3.2019, Az. 315 O 486/17) prohibited a law firm specializing in banking and capital market law from unlawful advertising with false, disparaging claims at the request of an issuing house.
In October 2017, the Hamburg Regional Court had already prohibited the investor protection law firm from repeating the claims made in a YouTube video as part of preliminary injunction proceedings (LG Hamburg, Beschluss v. 11.10.2017, Az. 315 O 378/17).
Be careful with client advertising on YouTube!
In a promotional video posted on YouTube, the law firm disparaged the issuing house’s financial products for no reason and even described it as a “masterful capital destroyer”. Following the disparagement, there was of course also a reference to the fact that customers should have their investments checked as part of a free initial assessment.
The Hamburg Regional Court agreed with the applicant in its interim injunction that the client advertising violated the personal rights of the issuing house, as the disparagement had no basis whatsoever, and ordered the law firm to cease and desist by way of an interim injunction. The law firm must now delete the video immediately and also refrain from making further similar disparagements.
We reported here:
Hamburg Regional Court also confirms ban in the main action
In its ruling dated March 15, 2019, the Hamburg Regional Court confirmed this ban even after holding an oral hearing as part of the main proceedings.
The court followed the plaintiff’s argument that it could demand that the defendants refrain from making the statements mentioned in the operative part of the judgment as they were damaging to credit and not demonstrably true.
The defendants had claimed that the plaintiff was again (=once again) masterfully (=intentionally) living up to an already existing reputation as a “capital destroyer” in the management of the fund companies it had set up. However, the defendants were unable to provide a basis for these allegations, let alone prove them. There was no evidence of repeated, “masterful” destruction of capital.
Value in dispute € 50,000.00, fine of up to € 250,000.00
The investor protection law firm must now continue to refrain from making the statements in question. In the event of non-compliance, an administrative fine of up to € 250,000 or up to six months’ imprisonment may be imposed. As in the preliminary injunction proceedings, the Hamburg Regional Court has set the amount in dispute at €50,000.
The defendant must now also reimburse the costs of the proceedings based on this amount in dispute and the out-of-court legal fees of over € 2,300.00. The decision is not legally binding and can still be appealed by the law firm concerned.
Lawyer Arno Lampmann from the law firm LHR:
“In recent years, the liberalization of advertising law for the liberal professions has led many lawyers to advertise not only more freely, but also more aggressively and – as the present case shows – unfortunately also simply illegally with a view to quick fee revenue.
Nowadays, a YouTube video is quickly created and uploaded. Lawyers who are committed to protecting investors often fail to consider that unlawful, untrue advertising in the financial sector can cause considerable damage that is not covered by the lawyer’s financial liability.”
Disclosure: Our law firm represented the plaintiff.
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