Textile Dealer Loses Lawsuit Over COVID-19 Mask Deal with German Government

A Hamburg-based textile dealer has suffered a legal defeat in his claim for approximately half a billion euros related to COVID-19 mask deliveries. The regional court in Bonn ruled that emails exchanged between the dealer and former German Health Minister Jens Spahn did not establish a legally binding purchase agreement. "The lawsuit is not justified in substance; there is no claim for payment by the plaintiff," stated presiding judge Stefan Bellin. The court also rejected the plaintiff's request to have Spahn testify as a witness. The lawsuit was filed by Pure Fashion Agency GmbH and its CEO, Matthias Timm, a former professional footballer. Timm's business, which deals in wholesale goods, leveraged his contacts in Turkey and other countries to procure protective equipment in early 2020. The dealer interpreted correspondence with Spahn, including emails from March 2020, as a purchase contract for FFP2 masks, surgical masks, gloves, and other necessary items. Spahn's emails, such as one on March 9, 2020, indicated an intention to "legally secure this [...] so that the masks land with us in D (Germany)." However, Judge Bellin clarified that Spahn's messages expressed a strong interest but did not constitute a legally binding commitment. The court found that Spahn referred the matter to "his people," and a contract was never finalized. Furthermore, the court determined that even if the email exchange were considered a purchase contract, the claims for payment would have been statute-barred, delivering a double rejection of the dealer's substantial financial demands.

“

The lawsuit is not justified in substance; there is no claim for payment by the plaintiff