Recoupment of overpaid civil service benefits: Discretionary equity assessment and criteria for reducing clawback amounts

The Federal Administrative Court granted permission for the appeal to be heard on the merits, thereby allowing the case to proceed to the next instance for substantive review. The dispute concerns the recoupment of overpaid benefits by a civil servant, specifically challenging the administrative authority's discretionary assessment under the principle of equity. The pivotal legal issues identified for resolution include whether the court can compel a significant reduction in the clawback amount based on the agency's predominant responsibility for the overpayment, the officer's impoverishment, and the nature of long-term payments involving small individual sums, and whether erroneous equity considerations mandate the full or partial annulment of the recoupment notice, grounded in § 12 Abs. 2 Satz 3 BBesG and § 132 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 VwGO.