The commercial court dismissed Sébastien Cauet this Tuesday, May 7, in the dispute between the host, targeted by several complaints for sexual violence, and the radio station NRJ.
The commercial court ruled in favor of NRJ this Tuesday, May 7, in the dispute between it and Sébastien Cauet. The host is rejected.
The commercial court ruled that the contracts concluded between Cauet’s companies and the NRJ group were “null” since the accusations against him arose.
“It’s a real disappointment,” declared Frédéric Lamoureux, lawyer for Sébastien Cauet on BFMTV. “We obviously cannot be satisfied with this decision which calls into question the legal principle of the obligatory force of contracts which would thus find itself destroyed by a media storm unrelated to the contractual relationship in question, media storm which is not based on any established reality. We plan to appeal this decision.”
Sébastien Cauet, targeted by five complaints including one for rape of a minor, has not appeared on NRJ since November 22, when the first accusations of rape and sexual assault appeared on social networks. A decision then announced as taken “by mutual agreement” to “guarantee the serenity” of the procedure.
The former star host of the music station had taken the latter to court before the commercial court, considering that the contract which linked the radio to his production company, Be Aware, had been wrongfully terminated.
More than 4.4 million euros
Initially, Cauet asked to be reinstated on the NRJ channel. But during the hearing at the commercial court on March 18, he returned to this request because he has since had to dismiss all his employees and is no longer able to honor his contract.
The facilitator therefore asked to be compensated for the contract years due, according to him, and not completed. An annual contract estimated at around 1.5 million euros per year, until 2026-2027. On the NRJ side, it was felt that this contract had expired since the rape accusations against him emerged. In total, Cauet claimed a little more than 4.4 million euros from NRJ, according to the judgment consulted by BFM.
Sébastien Cauet is the target of five complaints from young women who accuse him of rape and sexual assault. The last one was filed on February 8. The complainant denounces acts of sexual assault and rape which allegedly took place in the 1990s.
In mid-December, four other complaints were filed against the host. On the set of BFMTV, the host denied, on December 10, the facts with which he was accused.
Vincent Vantighem, with Benjamin Pierret
