Jes Dorph's attorney, after victory in the Supreme Court: The case has 'cost him dearly'

Jes Dorph-Petersen is a "light and happy" man after the High Court's decision on Tuesday. This is written on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/616642986/posts/pfbid02gMjSznGqubV8UYkf9ant3FYjwu6cosXmwwFT1Wt84YZ2UtFTjmjHWTz2HuWNJnKYl/?app=fbl).

The High Court has ruled that attorney Yvonne Frederiksen must pay nearly two million dollars in compensation to Jes Dorph, because she did not have sufficient basis for her conclusions in a lawyer's investigation for TV2 back in 2020.

In the investigation, it was concluded that Jes Dorph, in 2001 and 2003, committed sexual harassment against two former interns at TV2.

His lawyer, Jonas Christoffersen, is also happy with the day's decision after what he perceives as an unfair treatment of Jes Dorph. He tells P1 Orientation.

- The unfairness is that he has been hung out to dry in Denmark as a sexual harasser, says attorney Jonas Christoffersen.

- That's what the High Court now says, that the attorney did not have a basis for drawing conclusions. She made mistakes in her investigation of the case, and there was no basis for concluding that it was sexual harassment.

Jes Dorph originally did not win his lawsuit against attorney Yvonne Frederiksen, as the compensation case was in Eastern District Court earlier this year. Therefore, he appealed the case to the High Court, where he won on Tuesday. Here Dorph arrives at court with his girlfriend, Maise Haurholm, on January 14, 2025. (Photo: © Mads Claus Rasmussen, Ritzau Scanpix)

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What is the case about?

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The accusations against Jes Dorph resurfaced in 2020, when the MeToo wave was at its highest, and there were more accusations of harassment and sexism at TV2.

Therefore, the medium had commissioned a lawyer's investigation of sexual harassment at TV2 from the firm Norrbom Vinding, which was conducted by attorney Yvonne Frederiksen.

In November 2020, Jes Dorph was summoned to a meeting with the attorney, because two reports of sexual harassment concerned him.

Two former interns at TV2 accused Dorph of sexual harassment (https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2021-11-29-to-kvinder-staar-frem-om-sager-der-kostede-jes-dorph-jobbet-det-var-vaemmeligt-og-voldsomt) in 2001 and 2003. Both were invited to Dorph's apartment, where, according to their own account, they experienced boundary-crossing sexual behavior.

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What is MeToo movement?

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MeToo is a movement against sexism and sexual harassment, which started in Hollywood's film industry in 2017. The movement spread via the hashtag #MeToo on social media from the United States to most of the world.

In Denmark, MeToo first made a big impact in 2020 with the so-called 'second wave', which particularly rolled in the political world and media industry. It was triggered when TV host Sofie Linde gave a speech at Zulu Comedy Gala 2020, where she accused a former boss of sexual harassment.

The movement is not only about sexual harassment, which clearly violates the law, but also about power abuse and sexism in the workplace.

MeToo movement is referred to as a revolution or a deep cultural awareness change.

Source: Denmark's National Lexicon

In December 2020, Jes Dorph was fired from his job at Nordisk Film TV, where he was the host of TV 2-program "Go' Aften Live".

He himself revealed this to Politiken (https://politiken.dk/kultur/medier/art8054425/Jes-Dorph-svarer-igen-efter-at-v%C3%A6re-blevet-fjernet-fra-sk%C3%A6rmen-af-TV-2-i-MeToo-sag) in January 2021. He said he felt unfairly treated in connection with the lawyer's investigation. The day after, he was on Aftenshowet and explained the process from his perspective.

In November 2021, the Disciplinary Board gave Jes Dorph a favorable decision on three of the points in connection with the investigation. The same month, a documentary was released, where both former interns came forward and described their experiences of being mistreated by Jes Dorph.

Dorph has confirmed that he had a relationship with one of the interns, but cannot remember her account of feeling forced to have sex. He also does not deny the other intern's account of being offered sex, but claims that he was not aware that she found it offensive.

In May 2023, Jes Dorph sued attorney Yvonne Frederiksen for her investigation with a claim for compensation of over 1.6 million dollars. In the first instance, Dorph lost the case in Eastern District Court, but appealed to the High Court, where he won on Tuesday.

Here you can see Jes Dorph explain in Aftenshowet back in 2021, why he takes the paper out of his mouth:

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There have been 'serious errors'

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It is attorney Jonas Christoffersen who represented Jes Dorph in the High Court. He believes that the case is important for legal security:

- It is an important case, because it deals with what legal security one has - not just at the courts, but also in everyday life and work life - when one is exposed to very serious accusations. That's what the High Court says here: The accusations were very serious, which were raised against Jes Dorph Petersen, says Jonas Christoffersen to P1 Orientation.

You can read the entire High Court's decision here. (https://www.domstol.dk/hoejesteret/aktuelt/2025/12/om-erstatningsansvar-for-gennemfoerelse-af-advokatundersoegelse/)

It is precisely the seriousness of the accusations and the fact that they concern such old episodes that the High Court has taken into account in order to be able to place a compensation claim against attorney Yvonne Frederiksen.

Normally, a lawyer cannot be held responsible for a third party - here Jes Dorph - as a result of a lawyer's investigation. This can only happen under special circumstances, such as when the attorney has committed 'serious errors'. And that has the High Court ruled, that attorney Yvonne Frederiksen has in her investigation.

According to the law, she should have, for example, conducted more interviews with Jes Dorph and the one former intern in the light of a witness statement given during the investigation.

The High Court also places weight on the fact that there was not sufficient evidence for the investigation's conclusions. Yvonne Frederiksen concluded that Jes Dorph had subjected the two journalist interns to sexual harassment alone, because they "had experienced or perceived it as offensive".

But that is not enough in itself. According to the Equal Opportunities Act, it is the fact that a person has experienced an act as offensive that is a starting point for an assessment. But that does not mean in itself, that it is sexual harassment.

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Law firm behind investigation: We are 'surprised'

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Also the law firm behind Yvonne Frederiksen, Norrbom Vinding, has reacted to Tuesday's decision (https://norrbomvinding.com/da/viden/nyheder/hoejesteret-har-i-dag-afsagt-dom-i-retssagen-anlagt-af-jes-dorph-petersen/).

- We must note that the High Court has given Jes Dorph-Petersen a favorable decision on the requested compensation. The result is we are surprised by, writes they on their website.

- Norrbom Vinding has always been of the opinion that there was no basis for this lawsuit, and a unanimous Eastern District Court ruled earlier in the year a clear acquittal.

The law firm writes, however, that they take the High Court's decision to note, and that they 'naturally' will adjust themselves to the decision in future lawyer investigations.

Attorney Jonas Christoffersen, who has represented Jes Dorph in the High Court, sees the case as important for legal security. He believes that Jes Dorph has been unfairly treated. (Photo: © Linda Kastrup, Ritzau Scanpix)

According to Jes Dorph's lawyer Jonas Christoffersen, the case shows how thorough and well-balanced one must be as a lawyer when investigating cases with serious accusations of abuse. But there is also a lesson for the broader public:

- If you just turn your head a little, it also applies that we as a population and you as media must be aware of when we accuse people of serious things, even if it also holds water, says Dorph's lawyer to P1 Orientation.

- Jes is just being cancelled, and people have seen crookedly at him for years due to this. Now comes the High Court and says that there was no basis for the attorney's conclusions. And that has cost him dearly.

Regarding the question of whether Jes Dorph is now 'cleared', his lawyer Jonas Christoffersen is not in doubt:

- Yes, he is at least cleared of sexual harassment. He has always said that he did not have a sexual relationship with the one of the accusers. But there is a difference, of course, between whether one had a sexual relationship with a person 19 years ago, and then being declared a serious sexual harasser years later, says Jonas Christoffersen to P1 Orientation.

Yvonne Frederiksen must pay exactly 1,990,602.65 dollars in compensation to Jes Dorph and the costs of the case, which run up to 443,000 dollars. She has, according to the decision, 14 days to pay, otherwise the case costs will be charged.

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.