K+S KALI GmbH: Court dismisses lawsuit challenging agreement with Thuringia and Hesse

Hamburg – CMS Hasche Sigle has successfully represented K+S KALI GmbH before Kassel Administrative Court. The court dismissed a lawsuit brought by three local authorities and a fishery cooperative against an agreement between the federal states of Hesse and Thuringia and K+S KALI GmbH. The public-law agreement of February 2009 was intended to provide a framework for a sustained improvement in the ecological status of the Werra and Weser rivers, thereby enabling potash production in Hesse and Thuringia to continue.

K+S KALI GmbH was represented in the case as a summoned party by Dr Fritz von Hammerstein, partner at CMS Hasche Sigle, who previously advised the company during the contractual negotiations with the federal states of Hesse and Thuringia.

As part of a proposal based on the agreement, K+S intends to invest up to EUR 360 million in water pollution control by the end of 2015. A wide range of measures are planned with the aim of halving the volume of salt waste water and bringing about a 30 percent reduction in salt concentration in the river.

Originally, 18 local authorities, administrative districts, municipal utility companies and fishery cooperatives had brought a legal challenge against the agreement. Of these, 14 had already withdrawn their lawsuit in the course of proceedings. The remaining four cases have now failed before Kassel Administrative Court. The judge held that the claimants' rights were not infringed by the public-law agreement. Permission to appeal was refused.

Advisers CMS Hasche Sigle:
Dr Fritz von Hammerstein, Public Law