Esprit waives legal remedy in stadium name case

21 Apr '14

2 min read

Esprit, the international fashion brand for clothing and lifestyle products, headquartered in Ratingen nearby Düsseldorf, Germany, announces that it waives legal remedies against the first-instance verdict concerning the naming rights of the Düsseldorf stadium “Esprit Arena”. This decision has been reached by the company after careful consideration of all consequences of a long-term lawsuit.

A corporate spokesperson comments: “Esprit is based in the Düsseldorf region and has, independently from its legal opinion, decided to not pursue legal actions any further. The decisive factor is that a resumption of the lawsuit would burden all parties involved, including the Arena, Fortuna, Düsseldorf and also Esprit. A long-time legal tug-of-war indicated by the first-instance verdict would, independent from its legal result, bring excessive image damage to the area.”

About the case

After Esprit came to the conclusion that a continuation of the naming rights sponsoring contract with the municipal operator company of the Esprit Arena, the sports and events stadium in Düsseldorf, was not reasonable anymore due to severe breaches of contract, Esprit terminated the contract by end of April 2013.

This matter was brought to court with a lawsuit filed by Esprit regarding the termination. The first-instance trial at the district court Düsseldorf resulted in a dismissal of the case, confirmed by court on 7 March 2014. The appealing deadline expired on 10 April 2014. Esprit decided to formally accept the verdict and not to retry the case but to waive appeal in order to continue to settle the matter collaboratively and without legal remedies. The verdict is now legally binding.

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