ACTIONS CORNER

Bilfinger Berger announced on 5 November that it was reserving the right to take legal steps against David Mackay for damaging its reputation. The former CEO of the transport company in Edinburgh had publicly discredited the company and its employees, said the construction firm in justifying the step. According to its statements, Bilfinger had a contract in Edinburgh, as head of a consortium with Siemens and CAF, to build 18-kilometers of tram lines. The Scots accuse Bilfinger of being responsible for delays on the project. Bilfinger claims there were many changes to plans and lack of preliminary work for which the client was solely responsible.

The Effecten-Spiegel is suing Deutsche Bank for payment of €3.6 million. €25 for a Postbank share was too little, says the Düsseldorf holding company. The firm, which also issues the magazine of the same name, has according to its statements filed suit with Frankfurt Regional Court. The holding company is demanding at least €45.45 per share - the figure major shareholder Deutsche Post is receiving. Deutsche Bank had deliberately circumvented provisions on making a compulsory swap offer, thus cheating Post Bank shareholders of €1.7 billion, stated the plaintiffs.

In the eight-year long legal dispute between Leo Kirsch and Deutsche Bank, a judgment in first instance would be given on 22 February 2011 or witnesses and evidence required, announced judge Brigitte Pecher. München Regional Court I on 23 November again considered the question whether Rolf Breuer was partly responsible for the insolvency, making the media tycoon eligible for up to €1.3 billion in damages. Kirch claims the former bank CEO is responsible because of interview statements about the media empire’s creditworthiness and collapse.

In the long-running case of industrial espionage with Oracle, SAP has been handed a record fine. A jury trial in Oakland, California, sentenced the German group to pay damages for corporate infringements and data theft. The German software giant has to pay almost one billion Euros, i.e. 1.3 billion dollars, to its US competitor. The Walldorf firm had previously reached agreement with Oracle to pay lawyers’ fees amounting to some 120m US dollars. Before the court, its archrival had accused TomorrowNow of having stolen software and secret data and used them. While SAP admits misconduct by the subsidiary it had once purchased, it pleaded for a fine amounting to 40 million dollars. All legal possibilities are now being looked into.

In the case brought against Porsche Automobil Holding SE by two shareholder groups about January 2009 AGM decisions, the preference shareholders bringing the suit lost on appeal. Stuttgart Regional Court rejected their actions for avoidance. The plaintiffs wanted inter alia to overturn the discharge to board and supervisory board of Porsche SE for the business year 2007-8. The bulk of the billions earned in the business year were because of price-saving transactions in relation to the VW share. The option transactions are claimed to have decisively contributed to Wiedeking’s having been able to collect over €77 million in annual pay. The plaintiffs saw breaches of the law here. In their opinion there had also not been adequate information at the time about the hedging transactions, through which Porsche wanted to secure a majority in Volkswagen. A complaint of denial of leave to appeal has been announced.