XI ZR 50/13 · Nullity of partnership agreement due to unauthorized professional practice: inapplicability of § 134 BGB and Art. 1 § 1(1) Sentence 1 RBerG

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ordered the declaration of the revision (appeal) lost and imposed the costs of the revision proceedings on the plaintiff, following the plaintiff's withdrawal of the appeal after being forewarned of its lack of prospects. The dispute involved a civil lawsuit challenging the validity of a partnership agreement, with the plaintiff arguing that the contract was void due to illegal professional practice by a medical practitioner. The decisive legal basis for the outcome was the determination that the plaintiff's claims were unfounded because § 134 of the German Civil Code (BGB) in conjunction with Article 1 § 1(1) Sentence 1 of the Heilberufsgesetz (RBerG) did not render the agreement void, a view consistent with prior BGH judgments on the permissibility of such partnerships.