A man from Munich uses a machine in the self-service area of his bank and does not wear a mouth and nose protector. Because the customer is violating the Corona regulations, he is thrown out of the bank with the help of the police and is banned from entering the building. The mask refuser goes to court – and relies on a certificate.
On April 3, 2022, the general obligation to wear masks in Bavaria fell. A few days earlier, there was an incident in a Munich bank branch. A man who had a checking account at the bank entered the self-service area inside the money house and used a machine. He did not adhere to the corona protection measures in force at the time: he was not wearing a mouth and nose protector.
The mask refuser immediately attracted the attention of customers and bank employees. Politely, but with a certain emphasis, the man was told that he should please follow the infection control rules. Unfortunately in vain. There were sharp exchanges of words – and finally a scandal. The recalcitrant bank customer had to be brought out of the branch with police force. Finally, the bank banned the troublemaker from all branches.
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The person who was thrown out did not like this act of averting danger at all. He felt his rights had been violated and went to court.
With the issuance of an injunction, he wanted to ensure that he was allowed to enter the bank again immediately in order to be able to process his financial transactions. In his application, the mask rejector complained that he could now neither deposit money nor make transfers. Online banking is impossible for him because he currently has no mobile phone. And the bank terminals that are accessible from the outside are not sufficient, because you can withdraw money there, but not deposit money. Last but not least, the man from Munich claimed that he could not wear a protective mask for health reasons.
For all these reasons, he applied for the existing ban on the self-service area of the bank to be lifted.
On March 23, 2022, the Munich District Court rejected the application for an injunction (Az.: 182 C 4296/22).
In her decision, the responsible judge doubted that the bank customer would actually face “significant disadvantages” as a result of the house ban. After all, the bank would offer its customers the ability to process transactions online. “It is not clear that such online banking would not be possible for the applicant, simply because his phone is currently not available,” said the judge. “For this purpose, the applicant would be expected to use other Internet-enabled devices such as computers or laptops, which are also available in publicly accessible Internet cafes, libraries, etc..”
The lawyer also explained that the man had “not explained conclusively or made it credible” why it was important for him to deposit cash into his checking account at a machine in the self-service area of the bank.
The bank judge also agreed with the reason for the drastic measure, the house ban. The fact that the branch manager asked for a mouth and nose cover to be worn when visiting the interior “is basically covered by his domiciliary rights and is in line with the public regulations currently in force.”
In addition, there are considerable doubts about the certificate that the mask muffle referred to. First, according to the judge, the certificate is not current, but was issued in January 2022. On the other hand, it cannot be inferred from the letter “to what extent the applicant could not be expected to wear a mouth and nose cover for a reasonable period of two to five minutes to carry out banking transactions at the machine for health reasons.”
The judge’s clear conclusion: “After all, the application for the issuance of an injunction was to be rejected.”
The District Court’s decision is binding after the Munich I Regional Court rejected an immediate complaint from the bank customer who had been thrown out.
