In 1996 an international clothing retailer took over a store where a department head had worked since 1977. Under the new owner, everyone used du and first names. The department head went along with it for about 22 months. Then he demanded to be addressed with Sie again, and went to court. On 29 July 1998 the Regional Labor Court of Hamm dismissed his claim. The du had been introduced ohne ersichtlichen Widerstand der Belegschaft, without visible resistance from the staff, and he had accepted it by his own conduct. The right to decide how one is addressed, the court said, has relativ enge Grenzen, relatively narrow limits. A trade magazine named the employer as H&M. The published court text does not give the name.