Hello! appeals against OK!'s £1m Douglas case damages

LONDON - Hello! magazine is to appeal against a High Court order that it owes £1m in damages to rival OK! after it illicitly published pictures of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas' wedding.

Hello!'s solicitor Chris Hutchings said: "This was a spoiler, no different to any other spoiler in the past or since. Hello! has been subject to many spoilers, including ones from OK!"

Hutchings added that Hello! was not challenging the award made to the Douglases, but the fact that the commercial damages to OK! "were far too high".

Hello! is set to appear in court on Monday December 13.

The six-week hearing at the High Court last year saw Justice Lindsay rule that Hello! breached the Douglases' rights of confidence but that they had no claim in invasion of privacy. He awarded the couple £14,600 and OK! won £1,033,156 for commercial damage, because the magazine had an exclusive £1m deal with the couple to photograph their wedding.

The Douglases made the claim after 'Ocean's 12' star Zeta-Jones told how she felt "violated" by Hello!'s pictures, which she branded "sleazy and unflattering", including one that showed her eating a piece of cake.

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