Transfer of public-law landfill operator obligations to purchaser on sale of facility

The Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) granted leave for appeal to the party challenging the lower court’s decision, finding that the legal issue raised is of fundamental importance under § 132 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 VwGO. The dispute concerns the sale of a waste landfill (deposition) and whether public-law obligations imposed on the original operator transfer to a third-party purchaser as part of the transaction. The court ordered that the appellate proceedings proceed to clarify the specific prerequisites under which such statutory liabilities attached to a facility’s operation may succeed to a new owner. No final judgment on the merits of the liability transfer is rendered in this interlocutory order, but the decision establishes the justiciability of the question, which remains pending in the subsequent revision proceeding.