Maxime Meiland’s life was briefly captivated by a lawsuit surrounding her biography. For example, Maxime’s alleged rapist accused her of defamation because her described experiences were not true. However, her good feeling from earlier turns out to be justified, because during the summary proceedings she was found innocent by the judge. Her book Maxime – Abused, derailed and now… happy! may therefore simply remain unchanged in the store.
Maxime Meiland wins defamation case
It must be a beautiful day for Maxime Meiland and her family. The reality star was for a while involved in a lawsuit surrounding her biography, because she was sued by her alleged rapist. In the book she describes how he raped her, but according to the man in question, the experiences are not true. That is why he sued Maxime for defamation and demanded rectification and compensation. The relevant lawsuit took place two weeks ago and Maxime had a good feeling about this. This turns out to be correct, because the judge finds the alleged rapist wrong.
So Maxime doesn’t need her biography Maxime – Abused, derailed and now… happy! not to rectify and not to pay compensation. According to victim lawyer Sébas Diekstra and media lawyer Allon Kijl, this was the “only correct statement from a legal point of view”. A ruling in favor of the alleged rapist would have resulted in “an unprecedented restriction of freedom of expression”. “Then other victims might no longer dare to come forward because of the threat of legal consequences,” Maxime’s lawyers said.
“Very happy”
As mentioned, Maxime herself had a good feeling after she left the court two weeks ago. She responded at the time that she was “very happy” with how things went. So it was really a good omen for the future. The fact that Maxime won the defamation case is because she never made it clear who it was about. Only negative sexual experiences were shared, but “without making explicit who had those experiences with.” In the book she calls the alleged rapist an ‘ex-jail’. The judge also realizes that the situation was already known to the man’s group of friends ten years ago.
Maxime’s lawyers also do not understand why the alleged rapist continuously sought out the media prior to the defamation case. “Through his reckless behavior he has made himself recognizable to the general public,” they say. “And he would eventually be recognized and captured by various photographers and a camera crew from RTL Boulevard.” They find this behavior rather strange and unwise for someone who apparently cares a lot about his privacy.
Update: alleged rapist starts substantive proceedings
Unfortunately for Maxime, the beautiful day still has a negative connotation. The alleged rapist is starting proceedings on the merits against the reality star, his lawyer Peter Schouten reports to RTL Boulevard. According to his lawyer, the judge himself also refers to the substantive proceedings, because they can then provide more evidence. “My client is not deterred by this verdict,” says Peter, who is also critical of the verdict. “I think the summary judgment ruling is a license for famous people to make accusations about normal people.” That is why they continue to fight together for a verdict that is more positive for the alleged rapist. “He will continue to get justice with the truth on his side,” the lawyer said. By the way, they were already preparing for substantive proceedings. Both the lawyer and the client both knew that it would be a long-term case.
