In its much-anticipated judgment of 13 November 2025 the German Federal Court of Justice (FCJ) held that in insolvency proceedings, shareholders’ damages claims are not to be treated pari passu with claims of unsecured creditors. With this landmark ruling, the FCJ brings an end to years of legal uncertainty, resolving the long-standing dispute between shareholders and creditors of Wirecard in favour of the latter.
In 2022, the court of first instance had ruled that shareholder claims for damages in the Wirecard insolvency were subordinated to the claims of all other creditors (see our blog post here). In 2024 this decision was overturned by the appellate court. Both rulings were highly controversial…