Rabbit Phobia Case - Updated

(Vechta, Germany) The strange case of the teacher afflicted with alleged rabbit phobia has been resolved.

A German teacher has lost a defamation suit Tuesday in which she claims that a 16-year-old student spread vicious rumors saying that she has a rabbit phobia. The court case, which triggered nationwide headlines, was dismissed on the grounds that the student proved the teacher's phobia as fact.

A teacher in the northern German town of Vechta lost her case Tuesday that would have put to bed the rumor that she's afraid of rabbits. Marion V., 60, a German and geography teacher, made headlines earlier this year by accusing a 16-year-old schoolgirl of defamation, alleging that the student maliciously gossiped that V. suffers from rabbit phobia.

The defendant, named as Kim P., caused the stir by drawing a rabbit on the blackboard of V.'s classroom. Upon entering the room and seeing the drawing, V. reportedly fled from her classroom in tears.

The court dismissed V.'s claims, saying through a court spokesperson that V.'s fear of rabbits is a fact, which the defendant proved in court.

In conclusion, it appears that the court has made a psychological assessment that V. has a disabling fear of rabbits. My own observational assessment is that Marion V. is nuts.

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Rabbit Phobia
[Previous 6/17/10 post]
(Vechta, Germany) This report is really odd. A German language and geography teacher at a school in the northern German town of Vechta, Marion V., has filed a lawsuit against a 16-year-old girl for drawing rabbits on the blackboard.

The girl also allegedly told other students that the teacher has rabbit phobia.

"The plaintiff, a teacher, teaches the accused pupil at a high school in Vechta and claims the pupil drew rabbits on the blackboard of the classroom and told fellow pupils the teacher was afraid of rabbits and 'flips out' when she sees a rabbit," the court said in a statement.

"The teacher demands that the accused refrains in future from drawing rabbits on the blackboard and claiming that she, the teacher, is afraid of rabbits and flips out at the sight of them."

The court said the lawsuit refers to the "infringement of general personal rights according to §823 Clause 1 of the Civil Code in conjuntion with Article 2 Clause 1 of the Constitution."

The defendant, named only as Kim, came to court with her mother. Media reports said she looked shy and sheepish during the hearing. She said: "I didn't draw the rabbit. I know the teacher from my previous school where she also gave lessons. All I did was tell another pupil that she used to run out of the classroom whenever she saw a drawing of a rabbit."

According to the media, the rabbit fine could be as much as €5,000. A verdict in the case will be announced on July 20.

Tip: Graham K.