The responsible Senate, according to preliminary assessment, considers a sum between 500,000 and 600,000 euros to be appropriate, as a court spokeswoman announced on Thursday.
So far, the highest sum awarded by a German court in a comparable church abuse case was 300,000 euros.
The plaintiff Melanie F. demands 830,000 euros in pain money from the Archdiocese of Cologne.
She had been abused as a girl for years by a priest who had later taken her in as a foster father.
The Cologne Regional Court dismissed her complaint in July 2025.
Court considers archdiocese liable
The Senate of the Higher Regional Court now announced, according to the spokeswoman, to correct the judgment according to his preliminary assessment.
Unlike the district court, he considers liability of the archdiocese to be possible. The lower court had argued that the priest had acted in the acts as a foster father and private man and not in the exercise of his spiritual ministry.
The Senate sees it differently. Initial acts had already occurred before the priest had also become the foster father of the girl. In addition, the priesthood could serve as a "cover".
The Senate pointed out that a single man in the mid-1980s would hardly have been entrusted with a foster child if he had not been a priest.
According to the Senate, the case is a particularly serious case.
The plaintiff has already received 360,000 euros as a voluntary church recognition benefit. This payment would be counted towards a possible pain allowance, according to the court spokeswoman.
The affected association "Eckiger Tisch" welcomed the preliminary assessment of the court as groundbreaking. Managing Director Matthias Katsch explained that the Higher Regional Court had thus written legal history.
The legal assessment could provide arguments for numerous other affected persons for their own lawsuits. The Independent Commission for Recognition Benefits must also rely on this assessment in the future.
Verdict expected at end of November
However, the court has not yet made a final decision. A pronouncement date was set for the 26th. November scheduled. Then a verdict is expected.
So far, a judgment of the Regional Court of Cologne from 2023 is considered a record in such proceedings.
At that time, a former messenger and abuse sufferer was awarded 300,000 euros in pain money.