News

It is not that long ago that the Advocate General's Opinions of March and May 2022 on the expiry of untaken paid annual holiday caused a stir. With today's rulings, the ECJ is now further strengthening employee rights in accordance with the Advocate General's position while at the same time significantly restricting employer rights.

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Oppenhoff advised tesa SE on the sale of tesa Labtec GmbH, a specialty pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization for transdermal therapeutic systems and oral films, to Adhex Pharma.

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The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, placed Rosneft Deutschland and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH under the trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency . This is the first time that the BMWK has used a new legal basis anchored in the German Energy Security Act to avert risks in connection with the operation of critical infrastructures in the energy sector.

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The works council has no right of initiative regarding the introduction of time recording systems in the company. As expected, the Federal Labour Court [Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG] confirmed its previous case law today (decision of 13 September 2022 - 1 ABR 22/21). At the same time, the BAG's decision has caused a sensation in the discussion on the recording of working hours: according to the Erfurt judges, if the German Occupational Health and Safety Act [Arbeitsschutzgesetz, ArbSchG] is interpreted in conformity with Union law, employers are currently already obliged to record employees' working hours.

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Although emergency plans, risk plans and safety laws have also existed for a long time in the energy sector, they have not been relevant to date because there was no acute risk situation. However, a crisis of unprecedented proportions is becoming increasingly likely - and is therefore causing a great deal of uncertainty in the market. More than ever, in-house counsel are being called upon to find solutions with their partners in law firms. Carmen Schneider, energy law ex-pert and partner at the law firm of Oppenhoff, therefore urgently recommends taking appropriate preventive measures.

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According to a press release dated September 6, 2022, the German Federal Cartel Office has no objections against a production cooperation among German sugar producers to mitigate a possible gas shortage. The decision is driven by the current geopolitical situation and has cross-industry significance.

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A proposal drafted by the EU Commission for a CO2 limit compensation scheme will result in rising costs for manufacturing companies and is meeting with criticism. Holger Hofmann and Carsten Bormann find out what is being discussed.

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The Walter Oppenhoff Foundation is once again awarding two scholarships for LL.M. studies in the USA this year, thus supporting the extraordinary legal achievements of the two scholarship holders. The Foundation was established in 1996 on the occasion of the 90th birthday of Dr. Walter Oppenhoff, namesake of the commercial law firm Oppenhoff, and supports the international education of German lawyers.

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When an international marriage is divorced, the question arises as to which maintenance law applies. Normally, the law of the country in which the person entitled to maintenance is habitually resident applies. This only is not the case if the law of another country had, in an exceptional case, a closer connection to the marriage or if the couple made a corresponding choice of law.

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Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU and the US have imposed countless sanctions against Russia and Belarus. The EU has now issued the seventh package of sanctions. The multitude of regulations and dynamic develop-ments have raised a wide range of questions for companies. We are providing you with an overview of the sanctions imposed by the EU so far. Regulations (EU) 833/2014 and (EU) 269/2014 are relevant in this respect.

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On 9 November 2020, the European Council and the European Parliament agreed on new regulations for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items. Since the Dual-use Regulation came into force in 2009, it has already been amended several times. The list of controlled items was adjusted annually. As early as in 2016, it became clear that the existing regulation would have to be adapted to the rapid technological, economic and political changes. After years of discussions by the EU Council and EU Parliament, an amendment to the Dual-use Regulation is now within reach. The final draft of this agreement has now been published.

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Oppenhoff has advised VHV Versicherungen on the acquisition of the Eucon Group. The seller is the British private equity fund HgCapital. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

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The leading commercial law firm Oppenhoff & Partner continues to be very highly recommended by in-house counsel in Germany. These are the findings of the newly published study "Kanzleimonitor 2020/2021". In the largest study of its kind in Germany, Oppenhoff achieved seventh place in the overall ranking according to number of recommendations.

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The European competition authorities and the EU Commission are taking account of the special circumstances of the Corona crisis. Here are the key points.

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The German Federal Cartel Office [Bundeskartellamt] has given the go-ahead for the launch of the digital trading platform "Unamera". The platform is intended to facilitate trade in agricultural products (especially for grains and oilseeds) between agricultural traders and farmers as well as processors. However, certain structural conditions must be met.

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In Germany, cases of the novel coronavirus have now been detected in 10 of the 16 federal states. Numerous companies are restricting or even suspending international business travel. Several events have been cancelled or postponed. At a machine manufacturer in southern Germany, because one of its employees is infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, all of the subsidiaries have now also been closed until Wednesday. In our Newsflash we have compiled the most important questions and answers for companies dealing with the spread of the virus.

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On 7 February 2020, the District Court of Munich I has rejected the up to now most extensive civil damage claim concerning the truck cartel (reference 37 O 18934/17). The judgment has put a severe damper on the business model of the legal service provider Financialright.

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Oppenhoff & Partner has provided comprehensive legal advice to the Munich-based private equity fund Family Trust Beteiligungsholding (FTI) on the acquisition of the Dietsch Polstermöbel Group based in Schmalkalden.

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Oppenhoff & Partner has restructured its management as of 1 January 2020: a new Executive Board (EB) unites the previous Board of Partners and Management Committee.

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With effect from 1 January 2020, Oppenhoff & Partner has included Marc Krischer, LL.M. (tax law), Dr. Christoph Niemeyer, Dr. Markus Rasner (corporate law/M&A), Dr. Axel Wenzel, LL.M. (corporate law/succession, wealth & foundations) and Dr. Alexander Willemsen (employment law) in its circle of shareholders. Dr. Hanna Schmidt (IT&C) was made junior partner. The career steps follow the lawyers' contributions to sustainable client success in important growth areas.

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Oppenhoff & Partner has gained Dr. Gregor Seikel to further expand the corporate real estate and private clients practice groups. The corporate lawyer will be joining as a partner of Oppenhoff’s Frankfurt office on 1 January 2020.

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Oppenhoff & Partner has advised K1 Immobilien GmbH on the sale of the Lifestyle Centre “K1 Karree” in Mannheim to H.I.G. Capital. With its construction volume of 11,500 m², the mixed-use commercial property is one of the largest inner-city construction projects of recent years in Mannheim.

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The leading commercial law firm Oppenhoff continues to be highly recommended by in-house counsel in Germany. These are the findings of the study "Kanzleimonitor 2019/2020", which was conducted in over 800 legal departments. The participants made more than 8,000 recommendations, spread over 32 different fields of law.

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Oppenhoff & Partner has advised Frankfurt-based private equity fund Finatem on its acquisition of the Food & Service Group, Mülheim a.d. Ruhr. Oppenhoff’s services comprised, inter alia, the legal and tax due diligence as well as the legal and tax structuring of the transaction.

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Oppenhoff & Partner has been named Law Firm of the Year 2019 in the West at the JUVE Awards. With the annual awards, the editorial staff of the renowned industry publishing house honours commercial law firms that have attracted special attention as being particularly dynamic due to their client work and market position.

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