The Federal Government may be liable to pay a retailer close to €350 million for COVID-19 masks that were ordered. According to reports from “Spiegel”, the Higher Regional Court of Cologne revised a prior ruling issued by the Bonn Regional Court in late May.
Under the updated ruling, the Federal Government must pay the retailer nearly €219 million for the masks, some of which have already been delivered. Additionally, interest on the late payment adds approximately €128 million to the costs, with the total amount increasing by €61,522 every day. This single case alone currently puts the potential financial liability for taxpayers nearing €350 million.
The Federal Government’s final hope rests on the upcoming foundational ruling expected from the Federal Court of Justice. The government is hoping that this higher court will reverse the decisions made by the OLG courts, allowing it to avoid demands from dozens of related lawsuits totaling around €2.3 billion. Factoring in late payment interest, the financial risk in this broader context has escalated significantly, reaching between three and four billion Euros.
In the current specific case mentioned, the plaintiff was a company based in Brandenburg. The Ministry of Health, during the administration of then-Minister Jens Spahn (CDU), had ordered the masks at a unit price of €4.50 but ultimately did not fully accept the shipment. The Federal Government has since filed an appeal against the court’s judgment.
