Star couple win case over photos

BRITAIN: Catherine Zeta Jones had three bumper reasons to be cheerful yesterday - an Oscar on her mantelpiece, a second baby due any day and a court ruling which says that Hello! magazine breached the rights of confidence of the actress and her husband, Michael Douglas, by publishing unauthorised photographs of their wedding.

The High Court in London found in favour of the Hollywood A-list couple, who claimed to be distressed after pictures were taken by a Hello! photographer who gate-crashed their New York nuptials.

The couple had sued Hello! for £500,000 for printing the pictures three days before the official ones were due to appear in the rival OK! magazine, with which they had signed a £1 million deal. OK! is also seeking damages.

However, the invasion of privacy section of the claim - in a memorable court appearance last month, Zeta Jones said she had been "violated" and "devastated" by the incident - was thrown out by Mr Justice John Lindsay yesterday.

"Given that there was in any event to be very extensive photographic coverage of the wedding, albeit as selected by the Douglases, I do not see the behaviour of Hello! as so flagrant or offensive as to justify an award of aggravated damages," he said.

Any damages in relation to the breach of confidence ruling will be decided at a later date.

The failure of this part of their legal action was not referred to in a statement released by the couple yesterday.

"We deeply appreciate that the court has recognised the principle that every individual has the right to be protected from excessive and unwanted media intrusion into their private lives," they said.

Ms Sally Cartwright, the publishing director of Hello!, said that nine of the 13 claims against the magazine had not been upheld.

"The areas where he has found against us are, frankly, commercial ones," she said. "These rulings bear out what we have always said: that this case was not brought about privacy but \ a commercial deal: money and control."

The case will be remembered for Zeta Jones's high-glamour appearance at the High Court in London, where she nibbled on mints from a silver dish.

"I did not want my husband shoving a spoon down my throat to be photographed . . . it is offensive," she told the court.

Among the other titbits gleaned by celebrity-watchers was the fact that she felt the sneaked snaps made her look "large".

Dripping with diamonds, Zeta Jones also testified that while £1 million might seem like a lot of money to the average married couple, it was "not that much for us".