News-Archive

17.05.2021 Newsletter

Whistleblower protection: danger to trade secrets or an appropriate balance of interests?

With Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons notifying violations of Union law (Whistleblower Directive), the member states have agreed on a uniform protection of whistleblowers insofar as they expose violations of EU law. The Directive is to be implemented into national law by the end of this year.

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Employment Law14.05.2021 Newsletter

Dealing with vaccinated and non-vaccinated employees at the workplace - Is the employer allowed to ask about vaccination status and deploy its employees differ-ently depending on the answer?

In many companies in Germany, company doctors are all set to vaccinate employees against Covid-19. The official go-ahead for this is imminent and employers now have cause to hope for the "return" of their workers from home office and a normalisation of company procedures. At the same time, however, this gives rise to very important questions of labour law and data protection law, which we would like to answer for you below:

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Antitrust Law and Merger Control12.05.2021 Newsletter

German Federal Court of Justice permits lump-sum cartel damages clause

According to a recent ruling of the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) (judgement of 10 February 2021, file no. KZR 63/18), general terms and conditions that award the customer of a cartel participant lump-sum damages in the amount of 5 to 15 % are valid under certain conditions. This landmark ruling is not only relevant for ongoing cartel damages litigation. It also provides a blueprint for the permissible drafting of lump-sum cartel damages clauses in supply contracts and could thus make it much easier for cartel-affected companies to quantify damages in future civil proceedings.

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Oppenhoff advises shareholders and TIMETOACT on the acquisition of a majority stake by Equistone

Oppenhoff has advised TIMETOACT Software & Consulting GmbH and the two shareholders Felix Binsack and Hermann Ballé on the acquisition of a majority stake by the private equity investor Equistone Partners. TIMETOACT shareholders Felix Binsack and Hermann Ballé will remain operationally active as managing directors and hold a significant stake in the company.

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Antitrust Law and Merger Control04.05.2021 Newsletter

Rail freight cartel: EU Commission fines DB, ÖBB and SNCB

The European Commission has imposed fines of €48 million on Deutsche Bahn (DB), Austrian Railways (ÖBB) and the National Company of Belgian Railways (SNCB) for cartel agreements in freight transport involving "blocktrains." All three companies have admitted their involvement in the cartel. Customers of the rail companies should check at an early stage whether they are entitled to damage claims for excessive freight costs against the three companies.

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29.04.2021 News

Update FAQ: Employee testing and occupational corona vaccination

Are companies obliged to have their employees tested? Is the works council to be involved in the case of compulsory testing? Can companies oblige their employees to be vaccinated? Our labour law experts will answer these and other questions.

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Oppenhoff advises Trulo on the entry of the investor Flavour Warehouse

Oppenhoff has advised Trulo GmbH and its shareholders on the entry of Flavour Warehouse as an investor. Following the death of a Trulo shareholder, his heirs have now transferred their shares to Flavour Warehouse.

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Foreign Trade29.04.2021 Newsletter

17th Amendment of the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance: stricter investment screening in Germany

On 27 April 2020, the German Government approved the 17th Amendment of the German Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung, AWV). This entails a stricter regime of investment screening in Germany. The new rules entered into force on 1st May 2021. In order to ensure the smooth execution of already planned investments, it is essential for investors to prepare for the new procedures. We have summarised the most important points for you.

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Real Estate Law / Tax Law28.04.2021 News

Oppenhoff advises SEPHORA on leasing office space and flagship store in Düsseldorf

Oppenhoff has advised the global cosmetics chain SEPHORA on the leasing of office and retail space for its new German headquarters and a flagship store in the Schadow Arkaden in Düsseldorf.

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Oppenhoff advises AUCTUS on investment in STRANET AG and Smaser AG

Oppenhoff has advised AUCTUS on its investment in STRANET AG and Smaser AG via funds managed by AUCTUS.

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