By Julia Wittig, Firm: Kliemt.HR Lawyers

The German Federal Labour Court has ruled that cabin crew of the insolvent Air Berlin were not entitled to compensation for the loss of their jobs.

With the German Act to Mitigate the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Civil, Insolvency and Criminal Proceedings Law and the COVID-19 Insolvency Suspension Act (COVInsAG) contained therein (COVInsAG) of 27 March 2020, the obligation to file an insolvency petition (section 15a InsO) was temporarily suspended in the cases described in more detail below (see no.

Insolvency Law

The German Federal government is preparing measures to suspend the requirement for companies to file for insolvency in cases where companies are suffering financial losses due to the current COVID-19 crisis. This suspension may apply through 30 September 2020. The German government aims to avoid insolvencies that may occur simply because the state's financial help may not arrive in time.

Das Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (BMJV) hat mitgeteilt, dass die Insolvenzantragspflicht für betroffene Unternehmen unter gewissen Voraussetzungen bis zum 30.09.2020 ausgesetzt werden soll. An einer entsprechenden Regelung wird derzeit gearbeitet.

Das Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (BMJV) hat mitgeteilt, dass die Insolvenzantragspflicht für betroffene Unternehmen unter gewissen Voraussetzungen bis zum 30.09.2020 ausgesetzt werden soll. An einer entsprechenden Regelung wird derzeit gearbeitet.

1. Introduction

   The situation due to the coronavirus has resulted in a massive disruption and to some extent even in a complete standstill of public and social life with far-reaching consequences for the national and international economy. The recent border closures will have a further impact on the movement of people and goods.

   As a result, the German Federal Government has announced that it will provide several instruments to reduce the impact of the situation:

On Monday, 16 March 2020, the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz) announced that they are working on a legislative provision according to which the obligation to file for insolvency within three weeks following the occurrence of a reason for insolvency (i.e. illiquidity or over-indebtedness) would be suspended for such entities which face liquidity issues due to the Corona (COVID-19) pandemic.

The German government announced that it will expand the KfW financing programme.

According to the ministry, the draft bill has been prepared, and a first reading in the Bundestag is scheduled for March 25, 2020. It is expected that the law will come into force this month. According to the aforementioned press release, the temporary suspension of the obligation to file for insolvency will be subject to the following conditions:

Das Oberlandesgericht München hat in einem bisher unveröffentlichten Hinweisbeschluss^[1] die Rechtsauffassung des Oberlandesgerichts Celle^[2] und des Oberlandesgerichts Düsseldorfs^[3] bestätigt, dass für Ansprüche des Insolvenzverwalters gegen Geschäftsführer wegen Zahlungen trotz Insolvenzreife kein Versicherungsschutz unter einer D&O-Versicherung besteht. Daneben hat das Oberlandesgericht München auch zur Verteilung der Darlegungs- und Beweislast in Abtretungskonstellationen Stellung bezogen.