Südbahnhotel owner Christian Zeller has filed a private complaint against director Paulus Manker, who produced ‘Alma’ in the house on Semmering. Officially, the trial in Wiener Landl is about insults and slander – but of course much more about personal insults.
“It’s a shame that we’re all wasting so much time here,” says a witness. The artistic director of Südbahnhotel Kultur GmbH is visibly angry with Paulus Manker: “We could have played to a full house for another ten years,” she says, irritated about the argument.
Hardened fronts
Because Manker did not keep to the agreements, the contract of the producer, who produced the impressive plays ‘The Last Days of Mankind’ and ‘Alma’ in the former Hotel am Semmering, was terminated. The owner of the Südbahnhotel, Christian Zeller, has taken director Paulus Manker to court for various insults in the media – from ‘psychopath’ to ‘money-robbing scum’ to ‘charlatan’. The regional court of Vienna has already discussed this private prosecution during several days of hearings. The trenches are deep. And the mutual accusations are drifting further and further away from the content of the private accusation.
The negotiation is again about ten “Alma” tickets that were sold by Kultur GmbH and not by Manker as organizer. Apparently Manker had denied the owner access to his own hotel on August 4. Because Manker did not want to let the guests of the GmbH in and had chained the doors so that the ten people could not enter the house, security came. According to Manker, this was a “group of criminals” that Zeller organized.
The costs were expanded
The end of the dispute is not yet in sight. It is also not the only ongoing case in connection with the production. And the private prosecution is also dragging on. At the beginning of the day of the trial, Zeller expanded his accusation to include defamation. Because Manker accused the plaintiff of subsidy fraud in the courier. And insulted him again in this article. “I maintain the accusations. Because they are true,” says Manker, who this time appears in court as his own lawyer. And he also fulfills this role as if he were pretending to be a lawyer in a courtroom drama.
The difference is that this time it is a criminal conviction. But we wait in vain for the drama to be over on Thursday. Adjourned.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
