The Bonn regional court is dealing with a legal dispute over corona masks that could cost the federal government almost half a billion euros. The Hamburg textile retailer Pure Fashion Agency insists on an agreement from March 2020, which according to its interpretation was a sales contract (file number 1 O 213/25). There will be a court hearing on Wednesday (12 p.m.). A verdict is not expected for a few weeks.
The company relies on telephone calls and emails with the then Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) and with officials from the ministry. She is demanding 287 million euros plus interest and compound interest, which, according to the plaintiff, now totals 464 million euros. The ministry, which later purchased from other companies, does not view the communication as a completed purchase contract and therefore does not want to pay.
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. This became a financial problem because prices were high at this point in the pandemic and started to plummet shortly afterwards: the prices were too high.