Date: 27th January 2001

Schwarzenegger's Legal Victory


ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER's 1999 legal victory over a German cardiologist who predicted the star would soon die from a heart condition, has been upheld in a Berlin appeals court.

DR WILLI HEEPE, who never examined the actor, said in a 1998 interview that Schwarzenegger, 53, would not likely live much longer because of the condition. A publicist for Schwarzenegger, who had elective surgery in 1997 to repair a defective heart valve, says the ruling had been upheld by the Berlin High Court on appeal. Schwarzenegger says, "I hope that my prosecution of this case sends a strong message to opportunists around the world that I will not sit back passively when people tell lies about me."

The Berlin Regional Court ruled in favour of Schwarzenegger in November 1999, ordering Heepe to pay the TERMINATOR star $10,300 (£6,866) in damages and issue a public retraction. Heepe has since issued the retraction and an apology. Schwarzenegger donated his winnings to the Special Olympics in Germany. (RGS/WNWCPL/CPT)

Source: WENN