New Year’s Eve event at Kurhaus Wiesbaden: City may delegate execution to a third party
The Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main clarified by decision of December 22, 2023 (Ref.: 2 W 56/23) that the City of Wiesbaden is entitled to have a New Year’s Eve celebration at the Kurhaus, including the provision of catering services, organized by an external event organizer. The central issue was whether the awarding of the event execution to an external company was consistent with the contractual obligations under the existing operating lease agreement.
Background of the case
Kurhaus Wiesbaden GmbH is responsible as lessee for the operation of the Kurhaus. A private company, which holds a lease agreement with the city, objected to the planned New Year’s Eve event at the Kurhaus. The criticism was aimed particularly at the fact that the catering services should not be provided by the lessee itself, but by an independent third party acting with organizational responsibility. The lessee considered this a violation of its contractual exclusivity regarding the provision of catering services at the Kurhaus.
Legal dispute and court decisions
The motion of the opposing party
The lease agreement contains a provision according to which the lessee fundamentally has the exclusive right to offer catering services at the Kurhaus. Using an expedited proceeding, the private company sought to enforce this arrangement and prevent the New Year’s Eve event from being conducted by a third party.
Reasons for the decision of the Higher Regional Court
The Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main followed the city’s argument and rejected the motion. In the court’s view, the lessee’s contractual protection does not cover every form of catering activity performed by third parties. Particularly for independent events where the focus is not solely on catering, but on comprehensive event organization, including cultural and social elements, the City of Wiesbaden retains a degree of freedom in structuring.
The court stated that, in this case, the planned New Year’s Eve event should be qualified as an independent event that may be executed by an external organizer. The mere fact that catering services are also provided in the course of such an event does not automatically result in a violation of exclusivity rights under the lease agreement.
Implications and further developments
The Higher Regional Court confirmed that in the future, the City of Wiesbaden may also entrust third parties with the execution of events whose overall character goes beyond the mere catering offering. The decision helps clarify the distinction between traditional catering and lease agreements and independent event organization.
Since decisions in interim legal protection are always subject to final clarification in the main proceedings, the case is not yet legally concluded (Source: Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main, decision from 22.12.2023, Ref.: 2 W 56/23).
Further questions regarding the execution of external events within lease agreements
The nuanced assessment by the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt highlights the complex legal classification of event and catering services within existing lease agreements. Companies and event organizers are well advised, in view of such decisions, to thoroughly review rights and obligations in complex contractual arrangements. For further questions regarding contractual structuring and enforcement of claims, comprehensive legal advice in contract law by specialized law firms such as MTR Legal is recommended. Further information: Legal advice in contract law.
