2G in retail: Woolworth is right with a lawsuit in Lower Saxony

Created: 12/17/2021, 05:31 PM

From: Yannick Hanke

The department store chain Woolworth had sued 2G in the retail sector.

And with success.

The corona rule is overturned in Lower Saxony.

The backgrounds.

Hanover - relief for unvaccinated people in Lower Saxony: The Higher Administrative Court (OVG) in Lüneburg has overturned the 2G rule in retail.

Purchases in shops that are not counted as basic suppliers, such as supermarkets, are no longer reserved for vaccinated and convalescent people.

The department store chain Woolworth finally got the ball rolling.

2G tipped in retail in Lower Saxony: Woolworth successfully sued the corona rule in shops

According to the court in Lüneburg, 2G is no longer necessary in retail in Lower Saxony to further contain the corona virus.

The corona rule is also not compatible with the general principle of equality, reported the dpa, citing the court on Thursday, December 16, 2021.

The department store chain Woolworth achieved success with its lawsuit against 2G in the retail sector: In Lower Saxony, the controversial corona rule has already been overturned.

(Symbol picture) © Michael Gstettenbauer / imago

2G in retail has been in effect in Lower Saxony since December 13th.

People who are still not vaccinated were therefore only allowed to go shopping in shops for daily needs.

These include, for example, supermarkets that have special opening times at Christmas, pharmacies or drug stores.

Unrestricted shopping in Lower Saxony's retail trade is already in place - people who have not been vaccinated can go shopping again after the 2G rule is no longer applicable

As reported by the NDR with reference to the plaintiff's attorney, Woolworth had sued 2G in the retail sector.

The department store chain with 490 department stores nationwide has a mixed range and therefore believed it was being treated unfairly.

The decision made by the OVG Lüneburg on December 16 is to apply with immediate effect.

Accordingly, according to the specialist magazine "Textilwirtschaft", Woolworth would have instructed its employees in branches in an internal message to open the doors of the 51 branches there on Friday, December 17th, without any controls.

Corona findings from the sports and leisure sector cannot be transferred to retail: OVG Lüneburg overturns the 2G rule in retail in Lower Saxony

The court justified its decision regarding the overturning of the 2G rule in retail in Lower Saxony with many arguments.

Among other things, it was mentioned that a 1: 1 transfer of research findings from closed spaces in the sports and leisure sector to retailers is ultimately not easily possible.

Furthermore, customers in the retail sector could also be obliged to wear an FFP2 mask against the corona virus.

Incidentally, this is also the argument with regard to the tilted 2G rule at Lower Saxony's hairdressers.

And: It is not evident that the state of Lower Saxony has increased its research on infection routes so that the accuracy of the corona protective measures in the northern state can be increased.

Woolworth wants to prepare further lawsuits against 2G in retail in other federal states

The German Retail Association (HDE) had harshly criticized the 2G rule in retail even before it was officially introduced.

After all, with the introduction of this Corona measure, it is to be expected that the Christmas business in the city centers will largely come to a standstill shortly before the holidays.

According to information from the "textile industry", Woolworth now also wants to sue in eleven other federal states and take action against 2G in the retail sector in this way.

The department store chain is currently waiting for decisions by the higher administrative courts in North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland.

Background: Like in Lower Saxony, Woolworth also submitted a regulatory review application in these two federal states in order to overturn the 2G rule in the local retail sector.

Since this is an urgent procedure, a corresponding decision could even be made before Christmas.

2G in retail in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein: Woolworth fails with the abolition of the Corona rule in two federal states

With reference to a spokesman for Woolworth, the "textile industry" also reports that the company is already preparing lawsuits in nine other federal states.

Despite the success in Lower Saxony, this does not mean, conversely, that traders suing the 2G rule will in future also reach their destination in other federal states.

This is shown by the example of Schleswig-Holstein, where in the week from December 13th an urgent application by Woolworth GmbH against the 2G rule was rejected by the competent court.

And in Hamburg too, Woolworth's project has already failed.

This does not seem to deter other companies that want to follow the same path, but not.

Because apparently the non-food discounter Tedi would like to reserve "legal steps" to take action against the 2G rule in retail.

The "Business Insider" reports on this.

Tedi's reasoning: the company counts itself among the local suppliers with its mixed goods range - and would therefore not fall under the 2G regulation.

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