Next Generation Partners

Product liability in Germany

Hogan Lovells International LLP

Hogan Lovells International LLP's dispute resolution practice impresses with its extensive experience in product liability cases, including product safety and product compliance as well as cross-border product recall litigation. The team is regularly instructed by pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers - areas in which practice co-head Ina Brock is particularly experienced - but also by clients from the automotive, chemical, electronics, energy and consumer goods sectors. The other practice co-heads Sebastian Polly and Matthias Schweiger are among the key contacts for internal product compliance investigations, product conformity and product safety.

Praxisleiter:

Ina Brock; Sebastian Polly; Matthias Schweiger


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Benjamin Schulte


Referenzen

‘Huge experience, thoughtfulness and thoroughness.’

‘The team has in-depth knowledge and experience in product regulation and product liability and knows how to work with regulators.’

Kernmandanten

Google


Wirelane


Highlight-Mandate


  • Representing Google in antitrust damages claims in connection with the EU Commission’s Google Shopping decision.

  • Advising Wirelane regarding potential violations by Tesla of German calibration law and the consumer protection price information regulation.

Noerr

Noerr has in-depth experience in complex in-court and out-of-court product liability disputes, regulatory product law, product compliance, particularly in relation to environmental and waste law aspects, as well as expertise in product safety and global product recalls, which are regularly carried out for various German and foreign automotive, mechanical engineering and plant engineering companies. Here, Helmut Katschthaler, who specialises in insurance and reinsurance law, and Arun Kapoor are among the key contacts. The latter jointly leads the practice with Thomas Klindt, who is considered particularly experienced in cross-border product recalls in the medical sector.

Praxisleiter:

Arun Kapoor; Thomas Klindt


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Helmut Katschthaler; Steffen Burrer; Isabel Jakobs


Referenzen

‘Experts in the field of product liability, pragmatic advice. The combination with a very strong product regulatory team is unique.’

‘Steffen Burrer: Has extensive experience and gives very practical advice.’

‘Excellent expertise in product liability. Very powerful and well-structured team based around partners Thomas Klindt, Arun Kapoor and Helmut Katschthaler.’

‘Great experience in the automotive industry and excellent international network. The product liability team at Noerr is broadly positioned in terms of content and has first-class experts at all practice-relevant interfaces. Our colleagues also have impressively deep expertise in almost all facets of product regulation and are often the first on the market to be able to really comment on new regulatory topics and trends.’

‘I don’t know of any law firm that has a broader and higher quality product liability offering. The lawyers are highly responsive and service-oriented.’

‘Arun Kapoor: Leads international litigation at the highest level and is an excellent negotiator. When it comes down to it, he is just as virtuosic with the rhetorical scimitar as he is with the legal foil. He is also an expert in product regulation and is therefore my first point of contact when it comes to technical compliance issues.’

Kernmandanten

AXA FRANCE IARD


Deichmann SE


Eberspächer Gruppe GmbH & Co. KG


Geobra Brandstätter Stiftung & Co. KG


Lomotex GmbH & Co. KG


Magna Steyr


Procter & Gamble


Swarovski AG


tonies GmbH


Torqeedo GmbH


Zalando SE


BACH LANGHEID DALLMAYR

BACH LANGHEID DALLMAYR is regularly instructed by insurance companies, plant engineering companies, medical device manufacturers and clients from the pharmaceutical and food industries. Furthermore, numerous companies in the automotive, aerospace and food sectors are increasingly accessing the team's experience in product liability cases, product recalls and product safety issues; head of the product liability group Martin Alexander, Marcel Hohagen and Carsten Hösker are particularly active here. The practice's product liability focus further extends to electromobility, in the context of which Jendrik Böhmer impresses with his experience in product liability issues relating to autonomous driving, 3D printing and artificial intelligence. Martin Lomb and Christiane Osterspey made counsel in January 2023.

Praxisleiter:

Martin Alexander


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Marcel Hohagen; Carsten Hösker; Jendrik Böhmer; Martin Lomb; Christiane Osterspey


Referenzen

‘BLD Bach Langheid Dallmayr is distinguished not only by the fact that the firm has maintained a high level of expertise in all areas of product liability and industrial liability for many years, but above all by the fact that it also implements this specialist knowledge as a team in a day-to-day manner.’

‘Thanks to its broad activity and good market overview, BLD offers a reliable contact point for all product liability issues and beyond. Despite the high level of technical penetration, the BLD team does not get lost in academic papers, but rather provides tailor-made solutions for the respective problem.’

‘In the area of ​​product liability, Carsten Hösker and Marcel Hohagen, among others, provide efficient and practical consulting services while at the same time providing professional reliability.’

CMS

In addition to representing clients from the automotive, pharmaceutical and food industries as well as the mechanical and plant engineering sector in cross-border product recalls, CMS stands out with its extensive experience in product and producer liability, cooperation agreements, product warnings and compensation. Practice heads Nicolas Wiegand and Thomas Lennarz, who both also act as arbitrators, are the key contacts.

Praxisleiter:

Thomas Lennarz; Nicolas Wiegand


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Tobias Bomsdorf


Referenzen

‘High competence paired with a practical approach. Best network. High degree of digitalisation.’

‘Tobias Bomsdorf: A colleague who offers top performance. He has the ability to find pragmatic solutions and implement them. His network is extremely helpful for his clients. Response times are always the best. A lawyer who acts in a practical manner and can achieve very good solutions for the client.’

‘Strong team with solid market presence.’

Kernmandanten

Stellantis N.V. / FCA Italy S.p.A / FIAT


Mercedes-Benz Group AG


Highlight-Mandate


  • Representing and advising Stellantis NV / FCA Italy SpA / FIAT in several thousand individual lawsuits before German courts in connection with so-called emissions lawsuits.

  • Advising, representing and supporting a DAX40 group in handling a global product liability case within the supply chain by defending claims and asserting recourse claims due to an extensive subsequent performance action that was caused by defective components installed in a product.

  • Defending a DAX40 group against liability claims from various claimants (including pre-litigation advice) resulting from major damage caused by a fire on a cargo ship.

Gleiss Lutz

Gleiss Lutz' product liability practice impresses with its expertise in complex product liability litigation, international product recalls and product compliance, which is called upon by various companies from the automotive, medical and food industries. Practice head and product liability expert Eric Wagner particularly focuses on e-commerce, autonomous driving, connectivity and Industry 4.0.

Praxisleiter:

Eric Wagner


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Marc Ruttloff; Simon Wagner


Taylor Wessing

Taylor Wessing's in-depth experience extends from product liability, product safety and compliance to product recalls and is reflected in numerous instructions from high-profile international companies from the life sciences, manufacturing and engineering as well as automotive and pharmaceutical sectors. Product liability specialist Henning Moelle is particularly well versed in the latter sector and regularly advises on complex product liability cases, product recalls and product safety matters; areas in which practice head Philipp Behrendt is also renowned.

Praxisleiter:

Philipp Behrendt


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Henning Moelle


Referenzen

‘Henning Moelle: Has outstanding expertise on product liability issues in the pharmaceutical sector. Good availability in urgent cases and precise wording.’

Kernmandanten

AstraZeneca


Bayer


Grünenthal


Friedrich Carl Janssen


SWEDO


Vestas


Highlight-Mandate


  • Defending AstraZeneca against consumer lawsuits in multiple product liability cases regarding its Covid-19 vaccine.

  • International lead counsel for Grünenthal, including international coordination of product liability litigation in connection with Contergan (thalidomide).

Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH

Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH represents clients from the mechanical engineering, electronics and automotive sectors across the entire spectrum of cross-border and national product liability matters, including product liability and product safety issues as well as product compliance, product recalls and damages claims. Led by Steffen Gaber, who is responsible for the automotive and mobility industry group, the team welcomed Johannes Teichmann, who is experienced in product liability, product compliance and dispute resolution, and Rebecca Romig, who joined as counsel, from Baker McKenzie in February 2023.

Praxisleiter:

Steffen Gaber


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Johannes Teichmann; Rebecca Romig


Referenzen

‘At Luther, the focus is on the client!’

Kernmandanten

Cathay Pacific Airways Limited


Karcher AG


Elfzwomed GmbH


Beijing Bytedance Technology Co., Ltd.


SAME Deutz-Fahr


Harley-Davidson


Makita


Saint-Gobain Isover


Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA


Westfalen Mobil GmbH


Highlight-Mandate


  • Advising Beijing Bytedance Technology Co., Ltd., which is primarily known in Europe for the video portal TikTok. regarding requirements for marking and labeling its product (VR hardware).

  • Advice and successful representation of Karcher AG before the Federal Motor Transport Authority in connection with the questioned eligibility of a vehicle sold by the client.

  • Advising and representing Elfzwomed GmbH regarding the client’s assertion of damages claims against an English manufacturer of stair lifts due to defective products.

reuschlaw

reuschlaw primarily acts in product safety and product liability cases as well as in product compliance matters, with the team being instructed across all industries. The client base includes companies in the mechanical engineering and automotive supply industries, which primarily turn to Daniel Wuhrmann, as well as the medical and pharmaceutical sectors, where Miriam Schuh assists medium-sized and large manufacturers and suppliers on national and international level. Both jointly lead the team with founding partner Philipp Reusch, who primarily focuses on comprehensive product law advice for the mechanical engineering, automotive supplier and consumer goods industries.

Praxisleiter:

Philipp Reusch; Daniel Wuhrmann; Miriam Schuh


Referenzen

‘Outstanding combination of comprehensive legal knowledge, understanding of technical contexts and resulting consequences as well as perfect client support.’

‘Philipp Reusch: Has an excellent ability to quickly familiarise himself with complex issues and develop understandable solutions for clients.’

Bird & Bird LLP

Bird & Bird LLP's product liability practice stands out with a focus on automotive suppliers, which the team supports in contentious contract and liability scenarios. Led by Philipp Egler (contentious proceedings in the automotive and financial products sectors), the team has further expertise in product safety obligations, product recalls and product liability disputes in the technology, electronics and communications sectors. Matthias Spilker also focuses on product liability cases in the automotive industry, but advises insurers here as well.

Praxisleiter:

Philipp Egler


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Matthias Spilker


Referenzen

‘Very high level of expertise in the automotive sector. Good cooperation between partners and associates. High level of commitment and very good response times.’

‘Matthias Spilker and his team have excellent skills in the automotive sector. Here they are always available to provide advice and support and provide clients with comprehensive and exemplary advice.’

Highlight-Mandate


  • Pre-litigation advice to a German metal processing company in connection with serial damage and product liability in the automotive sector.