Restoration of first-instance default judgment after partial appellate reversal

In a final appellate decision, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) reversed the appellate court’s judgment against the plaintiff, reinstating the first-instance default judgment in the plaintiff's favor and ordering the defendant to bear the costs of the second and third instances. The dispute arose from a civil claim where the plaintiff succeeded in the trial court via a *Versäumnisurteil* (default judgment), a victory the defendant lost on appeal before the Landgericht Düsseldorf; the plaintiff’s successful revision (appeal) effectively restored the original victory. The court’s order stands on the procedural ground that the plaintiff’s appeal was fully meritorious, resulting in the complete reversal of the adverse intermediate ruling, though the specific substantive legal doctrine is not detailed in the provided operative text.