White & Case secures dismissal of Deutsche Bahn’s Stuttgart 21 cost overrun lawsuit for State of Baden-Württemberg

Global law firm White & Case LLP has secured a victory for the State of Baden-Württemberg in the Administrative Court of Appeal of Baden-Württemberg, which rejected Deutsche Bahn's request to appeal a 2024 judgment by the Stuttgart Administrative Court related to the financing of the Stuttgart 21 project.

"At no point did the State of Baden-Württemberg assume any obligation to cover the cost overruns of the Stuttgart 21 project," said White & Case partner Henning Berger, who led the team which achieved the dismissals before both the Stuttgart Administrative Court and the Administrative Court of Appeal of Baden-Württemberg. "The state only made specific financial contributions under public subsidy law, as clearly and unambiguously defined in the financing agreement. The Administrative Court of Appeal has now confirmed this in its decision."

The Stuttgart Administrative Court had dismissed Deutsche Bahn's claim for approximately €7 billion in additional project costs against the State of Baden-Württemberg and other defendants relating to the financing of the Stuttgart 21 project. The decision of the Administrative Court of Appeal of Baden-Württemberg, which is final and cannot be appealed, establishes the Stuttgart Administrative Court's ruling as legally binding and definitively establishes that the State of Baden-Württemberg is not responsible for covering the significant cost overruns of the Stuttgart 21 project. Neither the so-called 'negotiation clause' in the Stuttgart 21 financing agreement, nor any other contractual or statutory basis, creates an obligation for the state to bear these additional costs in whole or in part

"The Court of Appeal rightly rejected Deutsche Bahn's request to appeal the 2024 judgment of the Stuttgart Administrative Court," said Berger. "Among other things, the court concluded – based on a comprehensive analysis of the judgment of first instance – that there were no serious doubts about its correctness. This brings to a legally binding end a legal dispute that has been pending before administrative courts since 2016. Deutsche Bahn has no further ordinary legal remedies against the court's decision."

The White & Case team which represented the State of Baden-Württemberg was led by partner Henning Berger (Berlin) and included partner Julia Sitter (Frankfurt), partner of counsel Oliver Habighorst (Frankfurt) and associates Isabelle Peltier and Paul Germershausen (both Berlin).

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