LHR obtains advertising ban against "investor protection lawyers" before the Frankfurt Regional Court
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At the request of Lampmann, Haberkamm & Rosenbaum Rechtsanwälte (LHR), the Regional Court of Frankfurt (LG Frankfurt, Beschluss v. 12.11.2013, Az. 2-03 O 425/13) has issued a temporary injunction prohibiting one of the numerous self-appointed law firms for investor protection from making untrue claims to the detriment of Germany’s leading provider of closed-end real estate funds in order to “catch clients”. The decision was issued without written reasons.
It can be assumed that most law firms specializing in the representation of aggrieved investors are reputable. However, especially in the area of investment law, there is a strikingly large number of law firms, including well-known names, which seem to focus on “quantity rather than quality” when acquiring clients. Some do not shy away from luring potential clients with untrue or even simply fictitious claims and persuading them to conclude a lawyer’s contract, which is of course subject to a fee even if it later transpires that the suggested need for advice did not actually exist.
In the case in dispute, the “investor protection law firm” had accused the applicant in a press release of falsifying the balance sheet without there being any indication of this. However, the press release was not limited to the mere communication of this information, but ended with a recommendation to the investors to seek advice from a specialized law firm and the indication that the firm itself was willing and able to provide a “free initial assessment”.
The law firm against which the claim was asserted immediately issued a final declaration after being served with the interim injunction. The decision of the Frankfurt Regional Court is therefore equivalent to a title in the main action and is legally binding. The assertion of claims for damages is currently being prepared by LHR and will be reserved for separate court proceedings.
Lawyer Arno Lampmann from the law firm LHR:
“It is always astonishing to see the level at which lawyers go “hunting” for clients. As long as it is only a matter of lurid or tasteless advertising, the client may well be advised in individual cases to disregard such advertising. However, a limit is crossed in any case where untrue, business-damaging facts are claimed. The decision of the Frankfurt Regional Court is therefore to be welcomed unreservedly and the action taken by colleagues to recognize it hastily in order to avoid further costs is understandable.”
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(Bild: © corund – Fotolia.com)
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