ReleaseWire Connect

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – grprainer.com/en conclude: The Kiel Labour Court (ArbG) ruled in a recent judgment (Az.: 2 Ca 1793 a/13; not yet legally binding) that unlawful actions of employees aimed at increasing their net earnings can justify dismissal. The employee who raised the action was said to have credited her additional work to two marginally employed workers and then had them pay out the money to her. In doing so, she obtained far greater net earnings. In court, the plaintiff stated that this accounting method was suggested to her by the responsible operations manager.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – grprainer.com/en conclude: In the instant case, the claimant took a share in the shipping company MT “Margara” GmbH & Co. KG in the amount of 50,000.00 euros after a consultation with his bank. During the consultation discussions, the bank and the investor agreed to reduce the usual premium of 5% to 1%. In the course of doing so, however, the bank did not clarify that in the event of the investment in issue being brokered it would receive a refund of 18%. In this connection, advisors are obliged as a matter of principle to disclose flowing refunds, also referred to as “kick-backs”. A lack of disclosure leads to erroneous investment advice, which can justify claims for damages.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – grprainer.com/en conclude: If spouses do not opt for any particular property regime or conclude a marriage contract, they will find themselves in the statutory matrimonial property regime of the community of accrued gains.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – www.grprainer.com/en conclude: Someone acquiring a company always has a disadvantage in comparison with the vendor of the company in terms of vital company information such as earnings or sales. That is why the Due Diligence process has been developed for buyers. In practice, Due Diligence means “taking necessary caution”. This also establishes the measure of a Due Diligence analysis.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – www.grprainer.com/en conclude: A so-called share deal involves the purchase of company shares. The buyer of company shares generally has an interest in receiving guarantees for individual or all information provided by a seller. The objective here is to minimise the risk which is associated with a share deal. However, if the transferor is a shareholder who is not involved in the management of the company, then the potential buyer is in most cases only able to receive the information from management itself.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en conclude: In its judgment of June 21, 2013 (Az.: I-16 U 172/12), the Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Düsseldorf commented on the prior jurisprudence regarding fiduciary duties between a manufacturer and a distributor. The manufacturer ought to be obliged to reasonably accommodate the needs worthy of protection of the distributor, which subordinates extensively not only its own activity but also its business operations and the invested capital to the interests of the manufacturer, and not contravene its interests without justifiable cause.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – http://www.grprainer.com/en conclude: This is what the Regional Court (LG) of Hamburg ruled in a dispute between a company and a bride and groom (File number: 324 O 690/09). The couple married at a gastronomic establishment where it had professional photos done of the wedding and the celebration. The owner of the establishment used some of these photos for advertising purposes in a magazine without having obtained the consent of the couple beforehand. The couple sued for violation of their right of privacy and demanded payment of a notional licence fee.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en conclude: If it is necessary following an incidence of succession to correct the land register, it is not absolutely necessary for a certificate of inheritance to be presented. If devolution upon death results from a public testamentary deed and this is presented to the land registry office then in this case the correction can still take place, according to a ruling (Az.: 15 W 248/13) of the Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Hamm. Thus, the office must first interpret the deed and can only then demand a certificate of inheritance if the circumstances remain unclear thereafter.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Hanover, Bremen, Nuremberg, Essen and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: In the instant case of 22 May 2013 (Az.: 26 BV 31/12), the employer submitted a petition to the Labour Court for substitution of the works council’s consent for extraordinary dismissal. The employee was suspected of having used a credit memo issued in favour of the employer to make a private purchase. The employer wanted to subsequently extraordinarily dismiss the employee, who was also at the time the chairman of the works council, but failed to do so after the works council refused to give the necessary consent for this.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – www.grprainer.com/en conclude: In its judgment (Az.: XII ZR 35/11), the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) stuck to its previous opinion on the disclosure of agency relationships at the time of the conclusion of long-term contracts. Thus, for the documentation of the authority to sign, even when concluding long-term rental agreements, adding a company stamp is sufficient. The signature of every GbR partner is not necessary for adhering to the requirements for written form. If the signatory adds an appendage to his signature which indicates that he alone is authorised to represent the partnership, then this would suffice.