Overview

• Since 2020, the Health Ministry has cycled through a roster of five major law firms to handle more than 80 lawsuits over pandemic mask contracts.
• External counsel fees have reached €88 million as the ministry faces claims for €2.3 billion in masks plus over €1 billion in interest.
• This month, the ministry dismissed Berlin’s JBB firm after a brief mandate and restored PwC and Deloitte to key litigation roles.
• Cologne’s Higher Regional Court dismissed the ministry’s late-stage argument that its €4.50 net mask price breached public price law.
• The Federal Court of Justice plans rulings on six appeal cases later this year following the ministry’s defeat in Cologne.