Bykow transactions: EnBW sues the former Chief Technology Officer together with Freshfields

Legal negotiations with regard to catching up with the energy provider EnBW’s controversial transactions in Russia enter a new round. Yesterday before the regional court in Heidelberg began the lawsuit against Thomas Hartkopf, the company’s former Chief Technology Officer.

Hartkopf is one of four former EnBW managers, against whom the energy provider has asserted claims for compensation amounting to millions, due to their involvement in litigious nuclear transactions. Altogether, EnBW requests 220 million euros from the former managers and their D&O insurance Chartis.

In the present case, Hartkopf shall pay back 26 million euros, because he and the other members on the board partook or rather tolerated business with the Russian Andrej Bykow. EnBW assesses this as breach of duty. However, Hartkopf’s case is not about his job as Chief Technology Officer, but about his job as chairman of the supervisory board of EnBW’s subsidiary EnKK.

Legal representatives of EnBW

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer: Dr. Michael Rohls (conflict resolution; Munich), Dr. Andreas Fabritius (company law); associate: Dr. Martin Mekat (conflict resolution; both Frankfurt)
Inhouse (Stuttgart): Michael Rummer

Legal representatives of Thomas Hartkopf

Clifford Chance (Frankfurt): Uwe Hornung, Sebastian Rakob; associate: Miriam Lichstein (all conflict resolution)

Legal representatives of Chartis

BLD Bach Langheid Dallmayr (Cologne): Björn Seitz (insurance law)

 
Background: Because two commercial judges declared themselves biased by their personal relationships to Hartkopf, the actual negotiations could not begin as scheduled. Instead of this, judge Rohde invited the parties to an informative conversation, which lasted two hours, in order to discuss open questions with them. Negotiations will be continued on 24 September 2013. Then the defendant himself will attend, too.

You can access this article here >>