was successfully added to your cart.

Cart

Category

Debt collection

Civil actionDebt collectionGerman LawGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

The German Court System

Structure of the German Civil Courts explained If you need to bring a claim before a German court of law, this chart shows you which German court has jurisdiction and how many judges will hear your case:   The chart is taken from our expert law blog https://www.germancivilprocedure.com on which our German expert litigators explain many aspects of German civil procedure. You can also ask for our 20 page brochure: Civil Litigation in Germany -…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
January 18, 2022
Civil actionDebt collectionInternational LitigationLitigation in GermanyProcess Server Germany

Process Server in Germany

How to serve legal documents in Germany We have previously explained why there is no tradition of instructing a private process server in Germany (see here). Since our law office GrafLegal specialises in international civil and commercial litigation, we are frequently contacted by British, US and Canadian law firms who need to serve court papers or other important legal documents on a party who is resident or has their legal seat in Germany. In order…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
November 10, 2021
Civil actionDebt collectionGerman LawGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

Litigation in Germany is Different — CPR Explained

Typical Misconceptions about Civil Litigation in Germany Since Brexit, less German companies are willing to accept English law to govern their business relationships with UK trading partners. As a consequence, if things go sour between the parties, UK businesses may find themselves in a German legal dispute. German Civil Procedure Rules permit immediate Court Action In this situation, many British company directors and their solicitors make the same mistake: They assume that a German civil…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
July 22, 2021
Criminal LawDebt collectionGerman Tort Law

How to press criminal Charges in Germany

Victim of a Crime in Germany? These are your options: In case you have been hurt in an accident in Germany which was caused by someone else  or if you have been outright assaulted and injured while in Germany, you should immediately think about how to best collect the necessary evidence for a potential legal case later on. In other words: document all the relevant facts, for example by getting the names, addresses and phone…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
January 21, 2019
Civil actionContract TemplatesDebt collectionGerman LawGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

Your German Debtor asks for Relief from Payment?

Then you should use this opportunity to obtain a so called "abstraktes Schuldanerkenntnis" (an autonomous acknowledgement of debt) from your German debtor. This is sometimes also called "selbstständiges Schuldanerkenntnis" or "Schuldversprechen". In other words: You agree to grant the debtor a moratorium (or a deferred payment) of a few weeks or months, but only under the condition that the debtor signs a Schuldanerkenntnis (a formal "I owe you"). Such a written debt acknowledgment according to…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
January 24, 2018
Civil actionDebt collectionGerman LawGerman Tort LawGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

Litigation Costs in Germany: Basic Principles and an Online Cost Calculator

By German Litigation Expert Bernhard H. Schmeilzl, LL.M. (Leicester), admitted to the Munich Bar and qualified to represent clients in Courts of Law throughout Germany Court fees (Gerichtskosten) in Germany are based on the value of the claim (Streitwert or Gegenstandswert). The same is true for lawyers fees (Anwaltsgebühren) which are regulated by statutory law, the so called Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz (RVG). We explain the details of German civil litigation procedure including litigation costs in our expert…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
December 8, 2017
Civil actionDebt collectionGerman Corporate LawGerman LawGerman Tort LawGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

Pursuing Legal Action in Germany?

You found the German law firm perfectly equipped to address your legal needs in Germany Since 2003, German law firm Graf & Partners specialises in providing legal advice and litigation services to British and American clients. Our international litigation lawyers run the leading expert law blog on German civil litigation rules in English language: www.GermanCivilProcedure.com The majority of our clients come from Britain, the USA or other English speaking countries and are in need of pursuing…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
March 15, 2017
Business in GermanyCivil actionDebt collectionGerman Corporate LawGerman LawGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

Pitfalls of German Law (Part 2)

Be careful when suing a German Kommanditgesellschaft (KG), an Offene Handelsgesellschaft (OHG) or a Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts (GBR) The single most common mistake foreign claimants and their non-German litigation lawyers make when taking a German business to court is that they only sue the partnership itself and not the personally liable partners (persönlich haftende Gesellschafter). To avoid any misunderstanding: This post deals with German partnerships (Personengesellschaften) as debtors, not with German limited liability companies (GmbH)…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
March 15, 2017
Business in GermanyCivil actionDebt collectionGoing to courtLitigation in Germany

Dodging Debts by Moving to the UK?

Has your German debtor moved to the UK and declared himself or herself bankrupt under the UK / British insolvency rules? Since we specialise in British-German legal matters, our firm very often gets enquiries from German individuals, companies or banks regarding a situation whereby a German individual has moved to the United Kingdom and declared bankruptcy in order to avoid paying their debts and liabilities back in Germany. Even further, it is quite common that…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
March 10, 2017
Debt collectionGerman Law

For how long can a Creditor demand Repayment of a Loan under German Law?

How does German law treat loan agreements that state no specific repayment date? Germans have the saying "Bei Geld hört die Freundschaft auf" which loosely translates as "it's better not to mix friendship and money matters". Friends or relatives do borrow money though. What often causes problems is that the parties feel uncomfortable about creating a formal, written agreement. The approach tends to be: "We are good friends and trust each other, therefore we do…
Bernhard Schmeilzl
April 8, 2015