Bundesgerichtshof remands Baden‑Württemberg sawmill compensation case to lower court

Germany’s Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) overturned a Stuttgart regional court ruling that had required the state of Baden‑Württemberg to pay damage compensation to a group of 36 sawmills. The sawmills, represented by a collective claims service, are seeking at least €270 million in damages plus €203 million in interest for alleged over‑payments on round wood between 1978 and 2016.

The court said the lower court had not sufficiently examined how the state’s former central marketing of timber may have harmed competition, nor had it clarified the scope of agreements between forest owners and forestry authorities or the alleged intent or negligence of forest‑administration staff. Consequently, the case has been sent back for further fact‑finding. The dispute follows a 2015 Bundeskartellamt finding that the state’s timber‑selling practices breached competition law, leading to reforms of the regional forest administration.

The legal battle continues as courts reassess the state’s liability and the alleged monopoly that affected sawmill pricing.