Aue Stadium: Court Sides With City of Kassel, Opponent Withdraws Appeal

Finally, construction of the stands at Kassel's Aue stadium can be started. The beginning of the construction work had been delayed for months by a review procedure and then by an immediate complaint of a losing bidder against the scheduled award of the contract. On December 17, 2009, the bidder withdrew its complaint before the Frankfurt am Main Appellate Court.

In July of 2009, the City of Kassel had decided to award the contract with a volume of about EUR 7 million to a Kassel-based bidding consortium. A losing bidder then filed a petition for a review procedure in which the competent 2nd Public Procurement Tribunal of the State of Hesse issued a decision against the bidder on October 09, 2009. The bidder immediately appealed the decision of the Procurement Tribunal before the Frankfurt am Main Appellate Court. As a consequence of the "suspensive effect" associated with the immediate appeal, the City of Kassel was not permitted to initially award the contract to the selected bidder.

After OLG Frankfurt had denied the bidder's petition for extension of the suspensive effect on December 11, 2009, the City of Kassel was allowed to place the order for the construction even prior to the court's final judgment. In the court's view, the immediate appeal in all likelihood had no chance of succeeding based upon the weighing of interests to be carried out.
On this basis, the City of Kassel awarded the contract to its selected bidder on Monday, December 14, 2009. Following the withdrawal of the complaint, the court proceedings have now been completed and the judgment has become legally effective.

Dr. Ute Jasper and Dr. Kristina Neven-Daroussis provided counsel to the City of Kassel in designing and carrying out the award procedure. They also represented the client before the Public Procurement Tribunal and before the Appellate Court.