News

In a summer that was dominated by bad news, the diesel scandal increasingly took a back seat in the news coverage. However, the matter did progress and “Dieselgate” decisions were pronounced. In July 2021, the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof - BGH) pronounced a series of decisions that further advance the legal processing of the matter - at least as far as the affected buyers are concerned.

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Oppenhoff has advised nd industrial investments B.V. on the Series C financing round of Next.e.GO Mobile SE. As the majority shareholder of Next.e.GO Mobile SE, nd industrial investments B.V. led the Series C financing round. The new capital of EUR 49 million will be invested in the production of the e.GO Life platform, the development of additional models and also the unlocking the unique feature of e.GO Life, the battery swap. Both existing and new investors participated in the financing round.

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Oppenhoff has obtained an interim injunction on behalf of its client mi.to pharm against the Luxembourg-based Amazon Services Europe S.à r.l. before the Regional Court of Hanover on grounds of an abuse of a market-dominating position.

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As of today, wearing a mask at the workplace indoors can be waived in NRW - under certain conditions. The new federal-state resolutions of 10 August 2021 do not contain any concrete regulations in this regard. NRW was the first federal state to relax the obligation to wear a mask. It remains to be seen whether other federal states will follow suit.

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Oppenhoff has been nominated for the "Law Firm of the Year" Award by the renowned industry publisher JU-VE. It has also been nominated in the categories Compliance and Media & Technology.

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Status determination proceedings aim to provide legal certainty as to whether someone is self-employed or employed. This is primarily of relevance for the social security obligation. The wish for a reform of status determination proceedings according to § 7a German Social Code Book IV [Sozialgesetzbuch IV - SGB IV] has existed for some time. There was a need for more legal certainty and transparency, and a less lengthy procedure. The Bundestag had - largely unnoticed by the public - passed a corresponding bill on 20 May 2021. The changes are due to come into force on 1 April 2022. Jennifer Bold and Jörn Kuhn explain what changes we can expect and why parts of the reform have to be viewed critically.

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The Minister Presidents’ Conference [Ministerpräsidentenkonferenz] met on 10 August 2021. From 11 October 2021 onwards, free corona tests will no longer be offered to citizens. Companies have been urged to support vaccination. Our partner Jörn Kuhn explains what to look out for when vaccinating in the workplace environment and briefly highlights the key employment law points of yesterday's resolution.

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Oppenhoff has advised VHV Holding AG on the acquisition of InterEurope AG from the private equity fund Elvaston Capital. InterEurope AG continues to exist as an independent enterprise within the VHV Group at the company’s headquarters in Düsseldorf. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

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The holiday season is in full swing and in the first federal states the summer school holidays are already drawing to a close. Many have ventured abroad for the first time in a year and a half - getting out and about at last!" However, in view of rising infection rates, quarantine could become necessary - perhaps taking holidaymakers by surprise. We provide an overview of things to be considered when employees return from holiday.

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Increasing networking and automation in road traffic, large volumes of vehicle data: in this highly dynamic environment, new "data-driven" areas of business for innovative mobility services are currently emerging. Via interfaces, modern vehicles allow communication with other devices in the "Internet of Things" and often enable data collected in the car to be accessed by more than just the car manufacturers.

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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 COVID 19 crisis is currently dominating the everyday life of companies and defining the legal issues of current relevance. For example, many companies are asking themselves whether the strict antitrust rules are actually still applicable during the crisis and whether they are allowed to cooperate with competitors, for example in order to ensure the secure supply of products. In view of the sometimes drastic price increases for products in high demand, many buyers will have wondered whether this price hike is still permissible.

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In order to counteract the threatening economic consequences of coronavirus, the Federal Ministry of Finance [Bundesministerium der Finanzen, BMF] and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy [Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, BMWi] already announced in a joint statement issued on Friday a package of measures to mitigate the impact, which already included tax deferrals, an adjustment of advance tax payments and a waiver of enforcement measures.

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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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