The claim for damages brought by Air Berlin bankruptcy administrator Lucas Flöther against major shareholder Etihad Airways has to be negotiated in London. The competent court rejected the German lawyer’s objection and confirmed international jurisdiction.

A few years ago, Air Berlin and Etihad contractually agreed that the United Kingdom would be the place of jurisdiction for disputes. Regardless of this, Flöther sought legal proceedings in Germany. The golf carrier brought an appeal against it. Air Berlin was a public limited company under British law, but the flight operations were organized as a German limited partnership. The personally liable partner was the listed Air Berlin plc.

Flöther tried to claim damages from the former major shareholder before the Berlin Regional Court. The background to this is that a declaration of liability was not fulfilled, causing Air Berlin to go bankrupt. Etihad Airways put up a legal defense, arguing that the place of jurisdiction was London and that Air Berlin plc had its legal headquarters in the United Kingdom. In addition, the company brought a lawsuit in the UK to clarify the place of jurisdiction. The English court declared itself to have international jurisdiction. On the other hand, Flöther appealed in order to be able to transfer the proceedings to a German court.

The British judges dismissed the Air Berlin trustee's appeal and affirmed the jurisdiction of the UK judiciary through all instances. The content of the case is now to be heard in the High Court in London. In theory, Flöther can now try to appeal to the European Court of Justice, but due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the ECJ will no longer have jurisdiction over the courts of the United Kingdom in a few days. In other words: The damage claims against Etihad will most likely be heard in the High Court - regardless of whether the trustee expects benefits from the German jurisdiction or not.