ReleaseWire

Fitti Guard is a smart and attentive companion watch that not only helps users stay fit but also safeguards them from environmental hazards.  Fitti Guard guards against excessive radioactivity levels, heightened UV radiation and air quality fluctuations with reactive sensors that send an instant message to the user, alerting him or her of potential problems.   Now, the creator of Fitti Guard has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the production and distribution of this unique device.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Bremen, Nuremberg and London grprainer.com/en explain: It seems like the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) gave a judgment on the question which length is appropriate for a commitment of partners by a memorandum of partnership of a GbR which is binding for the partners (Ref. no.: II ZR 176/12).

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – www.grprainer.com/en conclude: In its judgment of January 17, 2014 (Az.: 332 O 249/12), the Regional Court of Hamburg (RC) clarified that from the submission of incorrect or merely estimated turnover projections follows a pre-contractual breach of duty on the part of the franchisor which entails claims for damages. A franchisee raised an action before the RC Hamburg, pursuant to which the turnover achieved fell far short of the forecasted figures. The defendant franchisor had allegedly failed to point out to the plaintiff during the contractual negotiations that the submitted turnover figures were based only on estimations.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – http://www.grprainer.com/en conclude: This kind of advertising constitutes unfair competition, according to the Higher Regional Court (HRC) of Hamm in its judgment of November 12, 2013 (Az.: 4 U 31/13). The HRC stated that this kind of vouchers would mislead the customer into breaching his contract with his insurer.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – www.grprainer.com/en conclude: The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has established in a ruling (Az.: Rs. C-209/12) the incompatibility of a rule from the German Insurance Contract Act with the life insurances directives of the European Union (EU). The disputed provision provides that the right of clients to withdraw expires one year after the first premium payment. This applies even if the consumer was not properly informed about the possibility of withdrawal in the context of the conclusion of a contract.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London - http://www.grprainer.com/en conclude: An employee initially sued for payment of overtime before the Kaiserslautern Labour Court and then before the Mainz Regional Labour Court (LAG) (Az.: 5 Sa 257/13), however both Courts dismissed the claim. The plaintiff, an employed lawyer, argued that he had to work longer than contractually agreed on the cases assigned to him. The employer countered, on the one hand, that it was not aware of the extra work and, on the other hand, that the extra work had not been recognizable.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – http://www.grprainer.com/en conclude: The Infinus Group landed in the headlines at the end of 2013. Following a large-scale raid, various arrests were made. Accusations of fraud hang in the air. Around 25,000 investors are thought to have been cheated out of approx. 400 million euros by means of an elaborate system. A great deal of businesses belonging to the Dresden based Infinus Group subsequently filed for insolvency. Most of them are still involved in preliminary insolvency proceedings.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – http://www.grprainer.com/en conclude: Bad news for investors in ship funds of the issuing house König & Cie. As reported by the “funds telegram”, the companies of the ships MS Stadt Schwerin (Az.: 5 IN 29/14), MS King Julius (Az.: 5 IN 19/14) and MS King Justus (5 IN 30/14) have been placed under insolvency administration.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – http://www.grprainer.com/en conclude: The Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Stuttgart delivered an opinion in a ruling (Az.: 7 U 95/12) on the burden of proof in cases of inaccurate leaflets. Thus, advice on the part of the advisor is negligent if he makes use of contractual documents or leaflets during the investment consultation and these feature mistakes or information gaps. It is the use and presentation of these inaccurate documents that constitute the advisor’s breach of duty, which can result in damages claims for the investor. According to the Court’s view, the breach of duty is only inapplicable if the advisor informs the clients about the mistakes in the leaflet during the consultation discussion. However, the burden of proof for this purpose lies not with the investor but rather with the advisor.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – grprainer.com/en conclude: The Kiel Labour Court (ArbG) ruled in a recent judgment (Az.: 2 Ca 1793 a/13; not yet legally binding) that unlawful actions of employees aimed at increasing their net earnings can justify dismissal. The employee who raised the action was said to have credited her additional work to two marginally employed workers and then had them pay out the money to her. In doing so, she obtained far greater net earnings. In court, the plaintiff stated that this accounting method was suggested to her by the responsible operations manager.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – grprainer.com/en conclude: In the instant case, the claimant took a share in the shipping company MT “Margara” GmbH & Co. KG in the amount of 50,000.00 euros after a consultation with his bank. During the consultation discussions, the bank and the investor agreed to reduce the usual premium of 5% to 1%. In the course of doing so, however, the bank did not clarify that in the event of the investment in issue being brokered it would receive a refund of 18%. In this connection, advisors are obliged as a matter of principle to disclose flowing refunds, also referred to as “kick-backs”. A lack of disclosure leads to erroneous investment advice, which can justify claims for damages.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – grprainer.com/en conclude: If spouses do not opt for any particular property regime or conclude a marriage contract, they will find themselves in the statutory matrimonial property regime of the community of accrued gains.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – www.grprainer.com/en conclude: Someone acquiring a company always has a disadvantage in comparison with the vendor of the company in terms of vital company information such as earnings or sales. That is why the Due Diligence process has been developed for buyers. In practice, Due Diligence means “taking necessary caution”. This also establishes the measure of a Due Diligence analysis.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – www.grprainer.com/en conclude: A so-called share deal involves the purchase of company shares. The buyer of company shares generally has an interest in receiving guarantees for individual or all information provided by a seller. The objective here is to minimise the risk which is associated with a share deal. However, if the transferor is a shareholder who is not involved in the management of the company, then the potential buyer is in most cases only able to receive the information from management itself.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en conclude: In its judgment of June 21, 2013 (Az.: I-16 U 172/12), the Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Düsseldorf commented on the prior jurisprudence regarding fiduciary duties between a manufacturer and a distributor. The manufacturer ought to be obliged to reasonably accommodate the needs worthy of protection of the distributor, which subordinates extensively not only its own activity but also its business operations and the invested capital to the interests of the manufacturer, and not contravene its interests without justifiable cause.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Hanover, Bremen, Nuremberg, Essen and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: In the instant case of 22 May 2013 (Az.: 26 BV 31/12), the employer submitted a petition to the Labour Court for substitution of the works council’s consent for extraordinary dismissal. The employee was suspected of having used a credit memo issued in favour of the employer to make a private purchase. The employer wanted to subsequently extraordinarily dismiss the employee, who was also at the time the chairman of the works council, but failed to do so after the works council refused to give the necessary consent for this.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – www.grprainer.com/en conclude: In its judgment (Az.: XII ZR 35/11), the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) stuck to its previous opinion on the disclosure of agency relationships at the time of the conclusion of long-term contracts. Thus, for the documentation of the authority to sign, even when concluding long-term rental agreements, adding a company stamp is sufficient. The signature of every GbR partner is not necessary for adhering to the requirements for written form. If the signatory adds an appendage to his signature which indicates that he alone is authorised to represent the partnership, then this would suffice.

With a view to restructure distorted teeth structure and replace damaged tooth, Praxisklinik Aachen is now ensuring better oral health with their efficient dental implants in Aachen. Through these implants roots of missing teeth is replaced while it also supports loose dentures and stabilizes them.

Dog food was once used as a derisive term for poor quality food, off cuts and offal. Now however, nutritional science for pets has advanced to the extent that dogs can enjoy anything from a health food diet to a gourmet indulgence that could even make their owners envious. Telling the good dog food brands from the bad is getting harder than ever however because of the abundance of competitors, so Pet Moz has launched a new resource focusing purely on dog food reviews.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: Until recently, it was not decided from a tax law perspective whether accrued property transfer tax constitutes incidental acquisition costs or an expense that is immediately tax deductible when there is a change to the composition of partners.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: The logistics contract can feature elements of various different types of agreement, such as freight contracts, agreements to produce a work or provide storage. The forwarder can commit itself for the purposes of a logistics contract to a large number of different kinds of activities, precisely because this entails a mixed-type contract which is not based on any statutory provisions. In particular, the principle of private autonomy in civil law enables the parties to the contract to extensively configure the content of the agreement. Thus, the forwarder can commit itself to services in the fields of production, distribution and ultimately also delivery of the relevant products, i.e. these days, logistics entails more than simply transportation of a commodity from one place to another. This enables the forwarder to be comprehensively incorporated into the different operating processes of its contracting entity.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – www.grprainer.com/en conclude: In a current decision (File number: 6 U 220/12), the Superior Court (OLG) of Cologne had to rule how providing information about alternative treatment methods on a website had to be classified. The case involved an operator of a website which provided detailed information about an unconventional treatment method. In addition, the website included a link leading to an online shop that sells products for this treatment method. Another company saw this as anti-competitive promotion of the products and filed an action seeking a cease and desist order.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – www.grprainer.com/en conclude: In the case in question, a law suit was filed for payment of the remaining amount of the agreed-upon contractual fee. The defendants built four row houses. In the course of this, the plaintiff was given an order for electrical installations by signing a confirmation of the plaintiff’s order with a lump-sum amount for the work performed by one of the defendants. The confirmation also contained the addition, “5000 € settlement according to arrangement”. Thus, the defendant in question also paid the plaintiff part of the contractual fee.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – www.grprainer.com/en conclude: In this case, the applicant demanded that a major Austrian Internet provider should block a website that infringes copyright. The Internet provider refused. The applicant requested a temporary injunction and asked for the provider to be prohibited from granting its customers access to the website in question. In this case, there was no legal relationship between the provider and the operators of the website, but it could be assumed that individual customers availed themselves of the website which was infringing copyright.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London – grprainer.com/en conclude: In its judgement of November 25, 2013 (File number: 2 Sa 950/13), the State Labour Court (LAG) of Düsseldorf ruled that the loss of a doctoral title alone does not constitute a reason for dismissal. In the case in question, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia had decided that the employee was not authorized to use his doctoral title. He had acquired it at a private university in the USA, and he filed an action against the dismissal. The significant reason for the LAG’s decision was mainly the circumstances which did not indicate any wilful deceit by the employee.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London - grprainer.com/en conclude: In a judgment of March 21, 2013 (File number VII ZR 224/12), the Federal Supreme Court (BGH) commented on the inappropriateness of a notice period for sales representatives. Thus, a standard provision used against a part-time sales representative, according to which the termination of a contract after a term of three years should be permissible only with twelve months notice effective at the end of a calendar year, is to be invalid due to inappropriate discrimination. Already, such a provision had not stood up to judicial control of substance under section 307, subsection 1, Civil Code (BGB). Such a clause would inappropriately discriminate against the sales representative contrary to the principles of good faith.

GRP Rainer Attorneys and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London grprainer.com/en explain: With its judgment from March 21, 2014 (file ref. no.: 6 U 170/12), the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt decided that an injunctive relief should be granted to the trade-mark against a shopkeeper if the shopkeeper uses external brand names as a component of its own advertising. The Court had to decide this case in which the defendant was advertising with signs on which the brand name of the plaintiff was being used to campaign as part of the defendant’s advertising. The Court took the position that the trade-mark owner could be at risk that potential customers might assume that a contractual relationship may exist between the trader and the trade-mark proprietor.