Extraordinary termination for theft of company vehicle: validity of dismissal and employer's burden of proof under § 626 BGB

The Federal Labor Court dismissed the plaintiff's revision, leaving the lower court's judgment in force and ordering the plaintiff to bear the costs of the revision proceedings. The case involved a dispute over a termination for cause (*fristlose Kündigung*), where the employer sought to establish that the employee was dismissed after being found in possession of a stolen company car, thereby justifying an immediate end to the employment relationship without notice. The decisive legal basis centered on the requirements of Section 626 of the German Civil Code regarding extraordinary termination, specifically evaluating whether the employer had met the burden of proof for the employee's fraudulent or criminal conduct and whether the termination was timely notified, resulting in the rejection of the employee's claim that the dismissal was legally invalid.