Celebrity couple Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas today won damages against celebrity magazine Helloover unauthorised photographs of their November 2000 wedding in New York.
In a joint statement the couple immediately welcomed the judgment by Mr Justice Lindsay in the high profile stg£3 million London High Court case: "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."
The couple's case was won on the issue of commercial confidentiality, but not on the issue of privacy. The amount of damages will be assessed at a further hearing.
During the hearing, which lasted six weeks, Ms Zeta Jones (33) told how she had felt "devastated, shocked and appalled" when she realised that paparazzi had gatecrashed her wedding at the Plaza Hotel in New York in November 2000. She and her 58-year-old husband had signed a stg£1 million deal with OK! magazine for exclusive coverage of the event after turning down a higher offer from Hello
Ms Zeta Jones said she felt "violated" when the magazine published the unauthorised photographs, which she claimed were "sleazy and unflattering".
The couple are claiming stg£500,000 and OKstg£1.75 million. Mr Justice Lindsay had been told that Ms Zeta Jones was like any other bride in wanting to choose which pictures were published from her wedding.
PA