[RT] A woman has sued a German hotel chain for failing to disclose the name of the anonymous man who fathered her child following a three-night affair.Who was the Man with the Hat?
The affair took place in the summer of 2010 in a hotel in the Bavarian city of Halle. Nine months later the unidentified woman gave birth to a son named Joel. The woman is convinced that her mysterious companion, reportedly a male escort, is the father of her 7-year-old son.
The mother has one clue. Her companion’s first name is Michael – although that could be a fake name he gave to hide his real identity.
The woman decided to ask the hotel chain to provide Michael’s full name and address, so she could track the potential dad down and make him cough up child support.
| And the court's response: |
[DW] A court in Munich has ruled that the hotel in eastern Germany was under no obligation to divulge the identity of a man who may have impregnated a German woman during a three-night love affair.
The case was further complicated by the fact that four men stayed at the hotel during the period in question who had the first name of Michael.
The only other information the woman knew was that the room they stayed in was on the second floor, according to a court statement.
The court ruled that the hotel was correct in refusing to divulge the man's personal details under Germany's Federal Data Protection Act.
Since the woman could not describe the man in detail, it was impossible for the hotel to identify just one man, the court ruled.
Judges said the man has the right to control his own personal data, along with the right to protect his family and marriage, according to the statement. Those rights took precedence over her right to child maintenance payments, the court added.
The four men named Michael also have the right to keep their sexual relations secret, the court said.