P&R Container - Insolvency!
"Container disaster" at P&R - Over 50,000 investors are affected!
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* * * UPDATE 10/03/2023: Inhibition agreement in the "P&R container" case * * *
In the legal question of whether the P&R insolvency administrators can reclaim payments (rental income and/or redemption values) received from P&R investors in the past (up to four years before the opening of the P&R insolvency proceedings), the Federal Court of Justice made it clear in its ruling of 26 January 2023, published on 9 March 2023, that the insolvency administrators have no such right to reclaim. The appeal against denial of leave to appeal filed by P&R insolvency administrator Dr Jaffé against the judgement of the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court dismissing the action was rejected by the BGH. The current BGH ruling relates to the first of the four pilot proceedings conducted by the insolvency administrator - specifically the insolvency proceedings concerning the assets of "P&R Gebrauchtcontainer Vertriebs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH" ("GC-Container"). However, in the opinion of our law firm, the detailed and legally sound reasoning of the decision should be transferable to all other P&R insolvency proceedings.
The insolvency administrator concludes his press release with the words that the decision of the BGH must first be analysed and that the three outstanding BGH decisions in the other pilot proceedings will be awaited. However, we assume that this first decision has settled the issue of the "P&R insolvency challenge" in favour of all former P&R investors as "old investors".
Our law firm has also conducted numerous proceedings throughout Germany on behalf of P&R "old investors" who did not sign the suspension agreement submitted by the insolvency administrator in 2021. Not a single court has ruled in favour of the insolvency administrator in these proceedings. All of the actions he filed were dismissed as unfounded.
As the suspension agreement from 2021 was valid until the end of 2023, the P&R insolvency administrator had already started to send out new suspension agreements that were to be valid until the end of 2025 before the publication of the current BGH ruling. The dispatch of these new suspension agreements overlapped with the publication of the current BGH ruling. In our opinion, anyone who has already received the letter from the insolvency administrator with the further suspension agreement can dispense with signing and returning this new suspension agreement. The P&R insolvency administrator has now received the decision of the Federal Court of Justice that he wanted. The previously unresolved legal issue has been decided by the highest court in favour of the P&R "old investors".
We therefore assume that the insolvency administrator will not pursue the return of the new suspension agreements and will leave further reclaims of earlier payments to rest. If, contrary to expectations, this should not be the case, the suspension agreement could theoretically still be submitted in the course of the following months. There is currently no reason to do so.
We will be happy to keep you informed about further developments in the P&R insolvency proceedings.
* * * UPDATE 02/08/2021: Inhibition agreement in the "P&R container" case * * *
P&R insolvency administrator repeatedly calls on P&R investors to submit suspension agreements
In a recent letter dated 29 July 2021, the insolvency administrator of the P&R sales companies calls on P&R investors who have not yet submitted a suspension agreement to him to do so. He has set a deadline of 18 August 2021 for the affected P&R customers to do so. The suspension agreement attached to the letter provides for a suspension of the limitation period for claims for repayment until 31 December 2023.
Background to the suspension agreement:
The P&R insolvency administrator is currently having the legal question of whether payments made to P&R investors in the past can be reclaimed from him clarified in several "pilot proceedings" at different courts. No legally binding decisions have yet been made in this regard.
The claims for repayment asserted by the insolvency administrator would become time-barred at the end of this year. In order to prevent the statute of limitations from running, the insolvency administrator is calling on P&R investors to waive the defence of the statute of limitations by 31 December 2023. If the waiver of the statute of limitations requested by the insolvency administrator is not submitted by the deadline of 18 August 2021, the P&R insolvency administrator is threatening the P&R investors with legal action.
Affected investors can obtain further information at
hemmungsvereinbarung@dr-greger.de
to the specialist law firm for banking and capital market law Dr Greger & Collegen, which already represents over 1,000 aggrieved P&R investors. Please attach the letter from the insolvency administrator including the suspension agreement to the e-mail.
* * * UPDATE 24.02.2020: Law firm Dr Greger & Collegen obtains positive judgements against heir of former managing director Wolfgang Stömmer * * *
In judgements dated 12 February 2020 and 21 February 2020, the Regional Court of Munich I upheld the first lawsuits filed by our law firm against the heir of Mr Wolfgang Stömmer. We were able to obtain fully prevailing judgements for those clients who purchased their containers when Mr Stömmer was managing director of the German P&R sales companies. The judgements are not yet final. If you are also interested in asserting claims for damages against the heir of the former managing director, you are welcome to contact us - either by using the keyword "Schadensersatz Stömmer" via our contact form
or under the e-mail address
UPDATE, 05.11.2019: Werner Feldkamp estate insolvency proceedings opened
By order of the Munich Local Court dated 4 November 2019, insolvency proceedings were opened over the assets of Mr Werner Feldkamp. The creditors of the former P&R managing director were requested by the court to file their claims in the insolvency table by 5 December 2019. At the same time, the date of the creditors' meeting was announced, which will take place on 23 January 2020 in Munich.
P&R investors who are interested in legal representation in this new matter are welcome to contact our law firm by e-mail (container@dr-greger.de), quoting the keyword "Feldkamp".
UPDATE, 24.10.2019: Settlement agreements accepted by insolvency administrator
In a press release dated 23 October 2019, the insolvency administrator law firm Jaffé points out that the settlement agreements have been accepted by the insolvency administrators. There will be no written confirmation of this, but the claims will be determined accordingly in the insolvency table at the review meeting (November). It is expected that the insolvency administrators' GIS (creditor information system) will then be able to check whether and to what extent the claims have been established from December 2019.
Only those creditors whose claims are disputed in whole or in part will be contacted personally. Affected investors can contact our law firm in this regard.
Some investors have still not received a settlement agreement. According to the insolvency administrator, further settlement letters are not expected to be sent out until the end of the year. He therefore asks for continued patience. This will not result in any disadvantage.
According to the insolvency administrator, the realisation of the container fleet is developing very positively: more than EUR 250 million is expected to be realised by the end of the year, and he is aiming for total proceeds of more than one billion euros. The first interim payment to creditors is expected in the course of the coming year.
UPDATE, 07.10.2019: P&R insolvency administrator asserts claims for repayment
The P&R insolvency administrator Dr Jaffé has recently started to demand the repayment of payments received from "P&R old investors". In the letters of claim received by our law firm, the insolvency administrator is demanding repayment of both the rental payments of the past four years and the payment of the container buy-back value. It is claimed that these payments constitute "gratuitous services" by the now insolvent P&R sales companies and that such payments made in the last four years prior to the opening of insolvency proceedings are contestable. As the facts of the case would raise "complex legal issues", the "old investors" affected are advised to seek legal advice as soon as possible.
The law firm Dr Greger & Collegen also recommends that P&R "old investors" who are currently receiving a demand for payment from the P&R insolvency administrator should not pay the sum demanded without legal review and advice. P&R "old investors" who wish to have the payment request reviewed and receive further information on this can register free of charge by entering the keyword "P&R payment request" on the website
or at the e-mail address container@dr-greger.de register with the law firm Dr Greger & Collegen.
Registered investors receive further information free of charge.
UPDATE, 28.08.2019: P&R insolvency administrator now also addresses existing P&R investors due to possible avoidance claims
Are you also affected by the current letters from the insolvency administrator?
Do not return the suspension agreement rashly and without consulting a lawyer!
Dr Greger recommends that the suspension agreements submitted should not be signed without checking them and that the letters received should be sent to the law firm Dr Greger & Collegen, which already represents more than 1,000 creditors in these proceedings, for examination and further processing.
P&R "existing investors" who would like a review of the suspension agreement and further information on this can register free of charge by entering the keyword "P&R suspension agreement" on the website www.dr-greger.de/kontakt/ or by contacting the law firm Dr Greger & Collegen at the e-mail address container@dr-greger.de. Registered investors will receive further information free of charge.
* * * UPDATE, 29 April 2019: 54,000 P&R investors will receive mail from the insolvency administrator in the next few daysHave settlement proposals checked! * * *
In today's press release, P&R insolvency administrator Dr Jaffé announced that all P&R creditors who have registered their claims in the insolvency proceedings of the P&R sales companies in the insolvency table will receive a settlement proposal by post in the coming days. The background to this is the fact that the claims registered to date in the respective insolvency tables are not recognised in full. This was already pointed out by the insolvency administrator when the claims were submitted. The amounts specified by him represented maximum amounts that would not be recognised as claims in this amount. All affected P&R investors will therefore shortly be presented with a proposal drawn up by the insolvency administrator, acceptance of which is a prerequisite for participation in the first interim payment, which has been announced for 2020. The only issue here is the amount of the claim recognised by the insolvency administrator. This amount represents a calculation figure and serves as the basis for subsequent payments in the amount of the insolvency quota. If the settlement offered by the insolvency administrator is accepted, the affected P&R investors must also declare a waiver of further claims - in particular against the Swiss P&R company through which the container transactions are currently being processed.
Whether the settlement proposal can be accepted in this form cannot be answered in general terms, but requires an individual examination in each case in the interests of the investors. Among other things, it must be clarified whether the proposed claim amount was calculated correctly and takes into account all relevant P&R containers.
In addition, the P&R insolvency administrator intends to have the legal question of whether payments made in previous years can be reclaimed from him clarified by a court. As the test case proceedings he is seeking are likely to take several years, the settlement proposal also includes a suspension agreement, which is independent of the settlement agreement.
Whether the declaration of suspension should be issued must also be reviewed individually and agreed with the individual investor. Lawyer Dr Stephan Greger, a specialist lawyer for banking and capital market law, sees little prospect of success in reclaiming payments already made in accordance with the current case law of the Federal Court of Justice. If the insolvency administrator wanted to be successful here, he would have to succeed in "further developing the law" at the Federal Court of Justice to the detriment of the investors. "From a current perspective, there is no scope for contesting the payouts, as none of the case groups developed by the Federal Court of Justice to date are relevant in the present case," says lawyer Dr Greger.
Lawyer Dr Greger, who is also a member of the P&R creditors' committees, urgently recommends that investors do not sign the settlement proposals submitted without checking them and send the letters received to the law firm Dr Greger & Collegen, which is already representing more than 1,000 creditors in these proceedings, for examination and further processing. Investors who wish to have the settlement reviewed by a lawyer can register free of charge by entering the keyword "P&R settlement" on the website www.dr-greger.de/kontakt/ or register with the law firm Dr Greger & Collegen at the e-mail address container@dr-greger.de. Registered investors will receive further information free of charge.
* * * UPDATE, 14 March 2019: P&R founder Heinz Roth insolvent! Options for P&R investors! * * *
In the investor scandal surrounding the insolvent P&R container companies, insolvency proceedings were opened against the assets of their founder and long-standing managing director Heinz Roth by order of the Munich Local Court on 6 March 2019. The creditors of the insolvent company founder were requested by the court to file their claims in the insolvency table by 18 April 2019 (!). At the same time, the date for the creditors' meeting was set, which will take place on 23 May 2019 in Munich.
Only those investors who have filed their claim in the insolvency table in a legally secure and timely manner will participate in the subsequent distribution of Mr Heinz Roth's insolvency estate. In addition to this registration, it is also important to justify the tortious behaviour of Mr Heinz Roth in an appropriate manner. Investors who do not register their claim will not be included in the distribution of assets.
The exact amount of Mr Heinz Roth's assets is not yet known. From the point of view of Dr Stephan Greger, lawyer and specialist lawyer for banking and capital market law and member of all P&R creditors' committees, intensive research is required to locate and realise all existing assets for the aggrieved investors. According to Dr Greger, filing a claim also suspends the statute of limitations.
Dr Greger, lawyer and specialist lawyer for banking and capital market law, will be present at the creditors' meeting on 23 May 2019 to represent the interests of P&R investors. Investors who wish to be represented or are unable to attend in person can register free of charge by entering the keyword "Roth insolvency" on the website https://www.dr-greger.de/kontakt/ or at the e-mail address container@dr-greger.de register with the law firm Dr Greger & Collegen. Registered investors will receive further information free of charge.
* * * UPDATE, 22 October 2018: Lawyer Dr Stephan Greger confirmed as a member of all four P&R creditors' committees * * *
Lawyer and specialist lawyer for banking and capital markets law Dr Stephan Greger has been confirmed as a member of all four creditors' committees at the recent P&R creditors' meetings. The existing members of the creditors' committees were confirmed by the P&R investors present with clear majorities of around 90%. Lawyer Dr Greger thanked them for the trust they had placed in him. He will stand up for the interests of all P&R investors and commit himself accordingly in order to realise the best possible results for the investors in the respective insolvency proceedings within a manageable time frame.
P&R creditors' meetings
Specialist law firm Dr Greger & Collegen represents P&R investors in all four creditors' meetings
Further information HERE!
* * * UPDATE, 14/08/2018: Claim registrations possible NOW until 14/09/2018! * * *
P&R investors are currently receiving the first letters from the insolvency administration law firm Dr Jaffé. First of all, those investors who have concluded container contracts with P&R Transport-Container GmbH have apparently been contacted. The documents relating to the other companies should also reach the affected P&R investors shortly.
The law firm Dr Greger & Collegen offers affected investors the legally secure registration of their claims in the insolvency table. In order to avoid legal disadvantages, investors should already seek legal assistance when filing their claims and be represented in the respective insolvency proceedings. In this case, the law firm Dr Greger will also represent its clients at the reporting meeting (first meeting of creditors).
In addition, we assert claims for damages on behalf of our clients against other relevant persons and companies.
* * * UPDATE, 24/07/2018: Insolvency proceedings opened today! * * *
* * * Dr Stephan Greger appointed to the creditors' committee! * * *
With the latest resolutions of 24 July 2018, the Munich Local Court has now finally opened the (preliminary) insolvency proceedings pending since March 2018 and April 2018 on the assets of the four P&R sales companies (P&R Container Leasing GmbH, P&R Container Vertriebs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH, P&R Gebrauchtcontainer Vertriebs- und Verwaltungs GmbH and P&R Transport-Container GmbH). The previous provisional insolvency administrators, lawyer Dr Michael Jaffé and lawyer Dr Philip Heinke, have also been appointed as insolvency administrators in the proceedings opened by the Munich Local Court. In addition, Dr Stephan Greger was appointed to the creditors' committees of the four insolvent sales companies. For the filing of the claims, the court has issued a Deadline until 14 September 2018 set.
In recent months, the law firm Dr Greger & Collegen, which has already represented P&R investors, has been instructed by a large number of aggrieved P&R investors to represent them in the upcoming insolvency proceedings of the P&R sales companies in order to bundle the investors' aligned interests and thus ensure that the best possible result is achieved for them in the insolvency proceedings. "Our aim is to minimise the financial damage from the financial scandal for our clients," says lawyer and specialist lawyer for banking and capital market law Dr Stephan Greger. In addition to the assertion and enforcement of individual claims for damages, professional representation in insolvency proceedings is a decisive factor in achieving this. In the largest capital investment scandal in German history, it is precisely through the targeted bundling of investor interests that it is possible to ensure that insolvency proceedings do not last unnecessarily long, that payout reclaims are avoided and that acceptable insolvency ratios are achieved. At the same time, the law firm Dr Greger is already preparing the first lawsuits to assert claims for damages against the responsible persons in court.
P&R investors who value competent representation in the P&R insolvency proceedings and, among other things, want to have their claims filed in the insolvency table in a legally secure manner can now contact the specialist lawyers at Dr Greger & Collegen quickly, easily and free of charge using the contact form:
https://www.dr-greger.de/kontakt/
The specialist lawyers at Dr Greger & Collegen can also be contacted by e-mail at container@dr-greger.de reachable.
* * * UPDATE, 26 June 2018: Assets secured in Switzerland * * *
Insolvency proceedings expected to be opened at the end of July
According to the latest press release issued by the P&R insolvency administrators on 25 June 2018, the inventory and evaluation of the available figures and documents have now progressed to such an extent that the insolvency report can be submitted to the Munich Local Court shortly. It is therefore expected that insolvency proceedings will be opened for the assets of the four P&R container management companies at the end of July 2018. Investors would then be given the opportunity to file their claims with the respective insolvency administrator for inclusion in the insolvency table within a deadline set by the insolvency court. The date for the first creditors' meeting could possibly take place in October of this year.
According to their own statements, the provisional insolvency administrators were successful for the creditors in that they obtained a "lien on the shares in the non-insolvent Swiss P&R Group company in favour of the German container management companies". This ensured that the assets held there would benefit the investors. A new director has also been appointed for Blue Sky Ltd, an important holding company of the Swiss P&R company and an important partner of the P&R Group, to replace P&R founder Heinz Roth.
However, the provisional insolvency administrators give the aggrieved investors little hope of recovering the full amount of their invested capital as part of the insolvency proceedings. The income generated by Blue Sky from container leasing would be far from sufficient to cover the investors' claims against the German P&R companies.
The law firm Dr Greger & Collegen, which is already representing a large number of aggrieved P&R investors and has reported their representation to the respective insolvency administrators, advises the affected P&R investors not to sign the form for filing claims prematurely and without checking it and to return it to the insolvency administrator. It is still unclear whether investors who have a certificate of ownership can assert separation and/or segregation rights. "The pivotal point for the question of the specific amount of claims that can be filed in the insolvency table is the legal assessment of the ownership position," says lawyer and specialist lawyer for banking and capital markets law Dr Stephan Greger. In order to be on an equal footing with the insolvency administrators in legal matters, it is definitely advisable to seek legal advice and representation. "Forward the claim registration forms to your legal representative immediately," advises Dr Greger. Only by pooling the interests of creditors can it be ensured that these can be enforced in the best possible way.
* * * UPDATE, 15 May 2018: Public prosecutor becomes active! * * *
Were investors at P&R misled for years?
According to the latest Handelsblatt report from 13 May 2018, sheer chaos has reigned at P&R for many years. Investors acting in good faith have probably been misled for several years. Initial checks of existing certificates of ownership with container numbers revealed that something was wrong with many random samples: either the last digits of the container numbers were missing or supposedly new containers turned out to be over 15 years old, if they had not already been declared as "scrapped". The service life of a container is usually between 12 and 15 years. According to the Handelsblatt media report, certificates of ownership subsequently requested by investors were issued for containers that did not even exist at the time of purchase and the sizes of the containers did not always match the containers purchased according to the purchase and management contract.
"In all likelihood, it will no longer be possible to determine who actually acquired ownership of which specific P&R containers," assumes lawyer and specialist lawyer for banking and capital markets law Dr Stephan Greger, who is already representing a large number of aggrieved P&R investors with his law firm specialising in investment law. "In addition to providing comprehensive and legally secure representation in insolvency proceedings, our specialist lawyers are also examining the possibilities for compensation against all potential claimants," says Dr Greger.
A fast, non-binding and free registration option for P&R investors is available here:
http://www.dr-greger.de/kontakt
The objectives of the pooling of interests are:
- Joint representation of the investors vis-à-vis the insolvency administrators
- Possible claims for damages against managing directors, board members, auditors, trustees, etc. - if there are indications of this after a legal review.
We are continuing to monitor the situation at P&R and will keep you informed.
* * * UPDATE, 30 April 2018: Further insolvency applications from P&R companies! * * *
On Thursday, 26 April 2018, the other P&R companies also filed for the opening of insolvency proceedings. These are the
- P&R Transport-Container GmbH and
- P&R AG.
This means that the entire group of companies based in Germany is now affected by the insolvency and the investment scandal is widening even further.
Munich, 19/03/2018 - P&R has been active in the container business for 40 years and now has more than 50,000 investors. What had already become apparent in the past few days and was feared by many investors and market observers became a certainty today: P&R is filing for insolvency. Specifically, the companies affected are
- P&R Container Vertriebs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH,
- P&R Gebrauchtcontainer Vertriebs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH and the
- P&R Container Leasing GmbH.
These are the companies that have generally become contractual partners of the respective investors and with which the purchase and management agreements have been concluded.
According to the insolvency administrators, the above-mentioned companies filed for insolvency with the court last Thursday, 15 March 2018. The Munich Local Court subsequently ordered provisional insolvency proceedings to be opened today, 19 March 2018 at 12:00 noon, in order to protect the debtor's assets from detrimental changes to the assets of the above-mentioned companies. As a result, disposals by the debtors are only effective with the consent of the provisional insolvency administrator.
Lawyer and specialist lawyer for banking and capital market law Dr Stephan Greger, who with his specialist law firm already has many years of experience in the legal handling of major loss cases on the "grey capital market" and is currently representing the interests of bond creditors of an insolvent company as a member of the creditors' committee, is currently bundling the interests of the affected container investors with the aim of keeping the financial losses of the investors as low as possible and avoiding liability cases with private assets. To this end, in parallel to the legally secure representation in the insolvency proceedings, claims for damages against eligible persons and companies are also being examined.
"Our aim is to bundle the interests of container investors, to protect their exclusive interests and to work towards achieving the highest possible repayment amount," says Dr Stephan Greger, lawyer and specialist lawyer for banking and capital market law.
Affected investors who have not yet contacted the law firm Dr Greger & Collegen can contact us by entering the keyword "P&R" on the website
https://www.dr-greger.de/kontakt
or at the e-mail address container@dr-greger.de
can register free of charge with the law firm Dr Greger & Collegen. Registered investors will receive further information.
Earlier message:
P&R Container - Is a new investment scandal looming? More than 50,000 potential victims!
Affected investors should act quickly! Liability with private assets is imminent!
Munich, 11/03/2018 - Based in the Munich suburb of Grünwald, P&R claims to be the market-leading provider of direct container investments. In 2017, the current P&R companies managed around 1.25 million standard container units for around 50,000 customers. A few days ago, the sale of the current container offers was now discontinued in a completely surprising move. Both investors and sales staff are unsettled. Did BaFin (German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) possibly initiate the sales stop or is the management's surprising decision related to P&R's current payout difficulties (Handelsblatt of 8 March 2018)? The communication freeze imposed by P&R is currently not providing transparency and is fuelling further speculation.
According to reports in the Handelsblatt newspaper, some P&R customers have been informed that rent and repayments due cannot be made on time. Payments would be delayed. Both the reason for the delay and its duration can only be speculated at present. Is it because the containers can no longer be sold at the end of the contract term? According to the concept, this would mean that the investors would remain the owners of the containers. However, this circumstance is anything but reassuring, as ownership of the containers can also lead to financial obligations of an indeterminable amount.
According to the prospectus, investors' financial risks are not limited to the amount invested. Investors are personally liable for the payment obligations arising from their ownership position with their entire assets without limitation. In the issue prospectus, this risk reads as follows: "The investor's maximum risk, over and above the total loss of the investment, is the jeopardising of the investor's other assets up to and including the investor's personal insolvency." For example, maintenance, care, management of the containers or fees for downtimes can lead to incalculable costs. The financial risk for the respective investor is therefore neither calculable nor limited.
The law firm of Dr Greger & Collegen, which has been successfully acting for investors since 1999 and represents aggrieved investors both in and out of court in the assertion and enforcement of claims for damages, is familiar with major loss cases and the representation of a large number of investors.
"First of all, it is very important to pool the interests of investors," says Dr Stephan Greger, lawyer and specialist lawyer for banking and capital market law. P&R investors can therefore register here quickly, without obligation and free of charge:
https://www.dr-greger.de/kontakt
We will inform investors of the following immediately after examination by our specialist lawyers:
- Fast enforcement of your individual payment claims against P&R
- Joint representation of the investors vis-à-vis the company
- Possible claims for damages against managing directors, board members, auditors and trustees - if there are indications of this after a legal review.
You are also welcome to contact us by email (container@dr-greger.de) and send us your documents (purchase/rental contract, legal expenses insurance). This does not entail an assignment. You will receive a personalised quotation after we have checked your documents. Specialised lawyers will take care of your request.
We are continuing to monitor the situation at P&R and will keep you informed.
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