The federal government remains tough in a dispute worth almost 500 million euros over a deal with corona masks. “The matter is clear, no contract has been concluded here,” said the federal lawyer, Martin Wittmann, at the hearing at the Bonn regional court.
The plaintiff is the Hamburg textile retailer Pure Fashion Agency, whose boss Matthias Timm received a surprise telephone call from then Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) in March 2020. Timm then exchanged various emails with Spahn and the responsible officials. According to Timm, a purchase agreement was concluded at that time. During the hearing, the presiding judge did not indicate any tendency as to whether he saw it that way or not. The verdict is scheduled for July 22nd.
The plaintiff Timm said to the dpa after the hearing: “After the personal conversation with Mr. Spahn, it was clear to me that this was a contract – very clear.” The company is demanding 287 million euros plus interest, which, according to the plaintiff, adds up to 464 million euros. Timm’s lawyer Dennis Geissler said in court that they were still ready for a settlement.
The case is one of numerous legal disputes surrounding mask purchases that the Federal Ministry of Health initiated in 2020 shortly after the start of the corona pandemic. At that time, the ministry received commitments for much larger quantities than expected. People bought too expensively, and a little later the prices fell.
Various courts have already ruled in favor of other mask plaintiffs who had procured Corona protective equipment. However, their goods were not accepted by the federal government or were rejected as defective, which the suppliers viewed as a violation of the law. In most cases that ended up in court, the suppliers prevailed. The federal government must therefore prepare for high payments. The procedure before the Bonn regional court is different. The question here is whether the purchase contract is yes or no.