“stigmatized” by the comments of a minister, the Pilates club requests compensation

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On the judicial floor mat. The administrative court of Montreuil rejected the appeal of a Pilates studio of Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) which demanded nearly 68,000 euros in compensation from the State for the fermeture administrative which had been imposed on him during the Covid-19 epidemic.

“Important places of contamination” during Covid

The company believed in particular to have suffered “image damage” linked to “remarks made” by the Minister of Health at the time. “These are confined spaces where wearing a mask is impossible, or even at least complex, and which are unfortunately significant places of contamination,” Olivier Véran declared at a press conference.

“The minister's statements […] are likely to incur liability for fault on the part of the State, considered the manager before the administrative court of Montreuil. Her comments stigmatized the entire profession, and she suffered loss of turnover and a image damage», added his lawyer.

“A company operating a sports hall whose closure has been ordered is justified in requesting compensation for the damage it has suffered when it is of a serious and special nature”, begin by inspiring the judges of the administrative court of Montreuil in a judgment dated September 19, 2024, which has just been made public.

“The burden borne by the company due to the impossibility of receiving its customers to counter the spread of the epidemic […] during periods of administrative closure of Establishments open to the public (ERP) of its category cannot be considered as a burden normally falling on this company,” they agree.

Other companies concerned, therefore special damage

“However, the closures […] were ordered throughout the national territory and for all covered sports establishments, the administrative court of Montreuil finally expires. Thus, the damage invoked by the company is not of a special nature. Consequently, the claim for compensation can only be rejected. »

The State's “responsibility for fault” after Olivier Véran's declarations could not be invoked either. “The company maintains that the comments made on September 23, 2020 by the Minister of Health stigmatized this sector of activity […] and led to harmful consequences, summarize the judges. However, the company did not invoke this triggering event in its request for compensation prior to administration. Therefore, the compensation claims can only be rejected as inadmissible. »

/MJ (PressPepper)

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