Hot Legal Topics — Friday

Period: last 3 days (Tue-Thu)

New Laws / EU Directives

• Working Time Act Reform: Federal Minister of Labor Bärbel Bas has announced a draft bill for the politically controversial reform for June 2026 [1, 2]. The focus is on electronic working time recording for protection against exploitation as well as a possible switch to weekly instead of daily maximum working hours [2]. Mass litigation relevance: Binding requirements for digital recording carry enormous potential for collective labor law proceedings regarding unpaid overtime.
• EU AI Act against sexual deepfakes: At EU level, there was agreement on amendments to the AI Act to combat abuse through sexualized deepfake AI [3]. Mass litigation relevance: Stricter regulations in this area open new avenues for mass injunctive relief and damages claims against platforms and software developers.

Federal Supreme Court / Landmark Decisions

• Relief for consumers regarding defects (burden of proof reversal): The Federal Supreme Court has clarified its case law on burden of proof reversal in consumer goods purchases (§ 477 BGB) in a consumer-friendly manner [4]. When a defect appears, the burden of proof reversal may not simply be excluded because other causes (not attributable to the seller) are theoretically conceivable [3, 5]. Mass litigation relevance: The judgment has a signaling effect for the entire consumer goods warranty law and facilitates mass withdrawal and price reduction declarations in cases of systematic product defects.
• Condominium Law & Air Conditioning: On June 12, 2026, the Federal Supreme Court will hear arguments (V ZR 162/25) on a unit owner's claim for permission to install an air conditioning split unit [4, 6]. Mass litigation relevance: Given climate change, highly relevant for millions of owners and condominium associations nationwide.
• Data Protection in private chats: On July 30, 2026, the Federal Supreme Court will hear arguments (I ZR 256/25) on whether and under what circumstances forwarding private chat messages to third parties is permissible [4, 7]. Mass litigation relevance: A strict interpretation could trigger waves of cease-and-desist letters in the areas of data protection and personality rights.

Trends in Litigation Funding & Legal-Tech

• ECJ reviews litigation funding in antitrust law: The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will examine the extent to which certain forms of third-party funding of lawsuits risk undermining the effectiveness of European antitrust law [8, 9].
• United Kingdom: Opt-Out collective actions against Big Tech in focus: In the United Kingdom, opinion pieces urgently warn against weakening collective action regulations [9]. Opt-out collective actions are described as an indispensable instrument for access to justice, particularly for holding Big Tech companies accountable [9, 10].
• US transparency rules for litigation funders: The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has proposed a new disclosure rule that would require parties in certain proceedings ("Section 337") to disclose non-party litigation funders [11].
• Fresh capital for the market: The industry's continued growth is evidenced by the closing of Corbin Capital Partners' "Litigation Finance Fund I" with a volume of $342 million USD [12].
• Mega success in New Zealand: A litigation funder-backed class action has achieved a historic judgment in the New Zealand High Court against ANZ Bank, confronting the financial institution with potential liability of up to NZ$125 million [8].

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