Revision of labor court judgment on the merits; final dismissal of appeal by Federal Labor Court

The Federal Labor Court (BAG) rejected the defendants' revision appeal, thereby affirming the lower court's judgment and ordering the defendants to bear the costs of the revision proceedings as joint debtors. The dispute concerned a labor law matter where the defendants challenged a decision against them, failing to overturn the Landesarbeitsgericht Köln's earlier ruling of August 21, 2008. The decisive legal basis was the standard for reviewing appeals in the final instance of labor litigation, where the high court found no grounds to disturb the factual and legal assessment of the prior instance, resulting in a final loss for the defendants and an enforceable victory for the plaintiff.