Hotels in the pandemic: BGH: No claim for compensation because of Corona

According to a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice, those affected by the corona lockdowns are not entitled to state compensation for their loss of income.

In pilot proceedings on Thursday, the Karlsruhe judges dismissed the lawsuit brought by a restaurateur and hotelier against the state of Brandenburg, which largely had to close in spring 2020 (Az.: III ZR 79/21).

Aid for economic sectors badly hit by the pandemic is not a task of state liability, said the presiding judge Ulrich Herrmann at the verdict.

From the principle of the welfare state, there is only an obligation to make domestic adjustments.

The details are left to the legislature.

During the pandemic, the state fulfilled this obligation by launching aid programs.

The procedure is thus legally concluded.

The only option would be to lodge a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court.

The decision is fundamental.

The regional and higher regional courts usually orientate themselves on this.

According to Herrmann, there are many similar cases pending nationwide.

Hotels were not allowed to accept guests

In order to stop the spread of the virus, the federal and state governments shut down public life in the first wave of the pandemic in March 2020.

The catering trade also had to close for weeks.

Food and drinks could only be sold to take away.

Hotels were no longer allowed to accept tourists.

This also affected Schloss Diedersdorf, a family-run business with a hotel, several restaurants and a large beer garden south of Berlin.

Owner Thomas Worm and his daughter Salina estimate their losses at 5438 euros a day - due to lost profits and running costs.

The family received 60,000 euros in emergency aid.

But this sum covers just eleven days, as her lawyer calculated in the BGH hearing of the case on March 3rd.

The Worms wanted the state of Brandenburg to pay them compensation of at least 27,000 euros.

The exact amount of damage would have been determined later.

The lawsuit was unsuccessful at the Potsdam Regional Court and at the Brandenburg Higher Regional Court.

Now the BGH also rejected the appeal.