The Springer media company had sued the former “Bild” boss Reichelt for a sum of millions. Both parties have now settled their legal dispute. A lawsuit by the group against Reichelt for fraud is ongoing.
The media group Axel Springer and the former “Bild” boss Julian Reichelt have settled their labor law dispute. The media house in Berlin announced that an out-of-court agreement had been reached. Reichelt confirmed this at the request of the dpa news agency. What exactly the parties agreed on remained unclear.
According to the court, a severance payment was reclaimed in the legal dispute and a contractual penalty was claimed. A company spokeswoman said last April that the lawsuit was for a seven-digit sum.
As recently as June, a conciliation hearing had burst before the Berlin Labor Court. Springer had accused Reichelt of having sent the “Berliner Zeitung” chat histories that were to be kept secret. Reichelt denied all allegations. He was expressly asked by those responsible at Springer-Verlag to keep and even publish the private chats. During the course of the lawsuit, he filed a counterclaim.
Springer: Settlement meets the core concerns of the lawsuit
Reichelt was dismissed as “Bild” editor-in-chief in October 2021 after allegations of abuse of power. As the “Spiegel” reported at the time, Reichelt is said to have had affairs with young colleagues who then accused him of bullying and exploiting dependency relationships. He always denied these allegations.
While Reichelt did not make a statement on the agreement that has now been reached, Springer said, among other things, that the out-of-court agreement is welcomed because it meets the core concerns of the lawsuit and possibly saves a long-term legal dispute. Confidentiality was agreed with regard to the content of the agreement.
In addition, it said: “In the event of future violations of the settlement agreement, which was concluded in the course of the termination of Julian Reichelt’s employment, or of the agreement that has now been reached, Axel Springer reserves the right to take legal action again and to assert claims by the company. “
Springer has also filed criminal charges against its former employee for fraud. Irrespective of the labor dispute, these investigations by the Berlin public prosecutor’s office are continuing.