The Federal Ministry of Health has incurred approximately €90 million in legal fees since 2020 related to proceedings concerning the procurement of coronavirus masks, according to information released to business magazine “Capital”. The ministry specified the total expenditure as €88 million.
Currently, the ministry is engaged with five different law firms across more than 80 separate legal cases. These proceedings primarily involve mask suppliers challenging the federal government.
“Capital”, citing sources involved in the litigation, reports that the Ministry of Health has repeatedly changed legal representation throughout the ongoing cases, commencing in 2020. In some instances, the ministry has exchanged law firms a second or even third time, leading to additional costs.
Significant legal fees, reportedly involving sums in the six-figure range, have been triggered in several high-value proceedings before the Higher Regional Court of Cologne solely due to the appointment of new legal representation. When questioned by “Capital” regarding the frequent changes in legal counsel, the Ministry of Health declined to comment on “individual engagements of law firms”.