Deutsche Bank Rejects Out-of-court Settlement In Kirch Case
March 01 2012 - 7:55AM
Dow Jones News
Deutsche Bank AG (DB) said Thursday it won't accept an
out-of-court settlement with the heirs of the late media mogul Leo
Kirch, extending a decade-long legal battle.
"The Management Board of Deutsche Bank has thoroughly reviewed a
proposal for the settlement of the legal disputes initiated by Dr.
Leo Kirch and his associates. Based on this review ... the Board
decided without dissent not to accept the settlement proposal," the
bank said in a statement.
Judge Guido Kotschy from the higher district court in Munich
last year suggested Deutsche Bank pay EUR775 million to the heirs
of Leo Kirch. But such a deal was facing resistance within Deutsche
Bank's management board, Dow Jones Newswires reported last week
citing people familiar with the negotiations.
Kirch, whose media company, Kirch Group, collapsed in 2002 in
Germany's largest postwar bankruptcy, died in July aged 84, but his
estate has continued to pursue the case against Deutsche Bank.
Under the original claim, Leo Kirch sought more than EUR3
billion.
In a 2002 television interview, Deutsche Bank's then-CEO, Rolf
Breuer, said it was unlikely anyone would provide Leo Kirch with
any more credit. Kirch, a Deutsche Bank client, sued the bank,
accusing Breuer of violating his right to confidentiality under
German banking laws. Kirch also alleged Breuer sought to damage his
company in order to obtain a lucrative deal to split up the media
empire.
-By Eyk Henning, Dow Jones Newswires, 49 69 29 725 108;
eyk.henning@dowjones.com
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