ReleaseWire Connect

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London grprainer.com/en explains: In its judgment of July 20, 2013, the German Federal Labour Court (BAG) ruled that in the event of an ordinary dismissal a reference to the relevant statutory deadline provisions is sufficient, if the recipient of a dismissal notice is able to easily identify when the employment relationship ends (Az.: 6 AZR 805/11).

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explains: The OLG clarified in its ruling of May 29, 2013 that the needs of a child of legal age are not diminished by the fact that it lives in its grandmother and her husband’s house at no charge (Az.: 2 WF 98/13). The petitioner of legal age, born in 1994, demanded subsistence from his father upon reaching the age of legal majority. The petitioner apparently attended the higher business school and had not hitherto drawn any student financial assistance pertaining to the BAföG. He lived at no charge in the house of his grandmother and her husband, while the latter also financially supported the petitioner despite there being no blood relation.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: The dismissal of a GmbH director without notice is done in accordance with the German Civil Code. Dismissal for cause must, however, in principle take place within two weeks following knowledge of the facts decisive for the dismissal. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) recently had to deal with dismissal of a director without notice and the associated requirements in its judgment of April 9, 2013 (Az.: II ZR 273/11). The BGH ruled in the aforementioned case that for the knowledge of the grounds for dismissal, it solely depended on the knowledge of the board which made the decision on the dismissal without notice.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart, London www.grprainer.com/en explain: In its judgment of June 20, 2013 (Az.: 8 AZR 280/12), the German Federal Labour Court (BAG) ruled that an acceleration clause regulated by the parties to an employment contract in said contract should only cover those cases which are not already regulated by statute, so that, for example, liability for intentional wrongdoing is not covered by this kind of clause.

GRP Rainer Attorneys and Tax Accountants in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: In its judgment from 21 March 2013 (No.: 6 U 170/12), the higher regional court of Frankfurt has decided that a cease and desist order respective to the trademark regulation may be issued to store owners if third-party brand names are used as part of store advertising. The defendant used signs for advertising on which the brand name of the plaintiff was placed which the defendant then used to advertise goods. In such a case, there is a risk that prospective customers may assume that there is a contractual relationship between the retailer and the owner of the trademark according to the opinion of the Court.

GRP Rainer Attorneys and Tax Accountants in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London grprainer.com/en explain: In its judgment from 15 January 2013 (No.: 4 U 874/12), the Koblenz higher regional court decided in favour of the purchaser of a home with marten infestation of the roof. The seller had made the representation at the time of purchase that no hidden defects of the house were known to them. Nevertheless, the buyer discovered some months later that there was damage to roof insulation which had been caused by the pitting of martens and raccoon feces.

GRP Rainer Attorneys and Tax Accountants in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: With its decision from 11 February 2013 (No.: 20 W 542/11), the higher regional court in Frankfurt, Germany made it clear that an arrow diagram does not qualify as a handwritten will and testament. As to the question of the effectiveness of the form a will and testament, a general requirement for effectiveness applies by which it is not only important whether or not the arrow diagram would have, in fact, been constructed by the testator. In the case of an arrow diagram, there are already deficiencies respective to the general requirement in regards to the basic function of ensuring the authenticity of the declaration. This must cover the entire contents of the declaration of the testament. However, verification of authenticity is not possible on the basis of arrow connections.

GRP Rainer Attorneys and Tax Accountants in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London grprainer.com/en explain: the Court of Appeal (Kammergericht) in Berlin in its judgment from 17 June 2010 (No. 12 U 51/09) decided that the classification of a lease as a residential or commercial tenancy agreement will follow respective to what the parties have agreed in the conclusion of the contract. In this way, such a classification could follow according to the circumstances of any given individual case. Specific purposes of the contract that may have been agreed under certain circumstances may also be relevant for determining the classification.

GRP Rainer Attorneys and Tax Accountants in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: In establishing the grounds for their decision, the judges in Karlsruhe explained that it is essential that the adjustment of the facts of the case are to be undertaken ahead of the opening of insolvency proceedings. Only at that point in time before the opening of insolvency proceedings could a set-off be undertaken as part of bankruptcy proceedings which is presented so as to be undertaken without hesitation. In addition, the Federal Fiscal Court established that the prohibition of set-off payments contained in the German insolvency code (InsO) may not be used in the case that claims and counterclaims would arise in the same chronological sequence.

GRP Rainer Attorneys and Tax Accountants in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: In its judgment from 27 March 2013 (No.: 25 U 59/12), the Court of Appeal, Kammergericht (KG), in Berlin decided that an exclusion of tenancy liability by the lessor in a leasing agreement from assignment of legal warranty claims of the sales contract against suppliers, the obligation to provide notification of defects to the supplier is also excluded or must be assigned to the lessee. Otherwise, the lessor may be liable for damages.