Purpose
The skill examines claims of former LPG members or their heirs to settlement of assets under §§ 44 et seq. of the Landwirtschaftsanpassungsgesetz (LwAnpG) against the successor company (registered cooperative, GmbH, GbR or liquidators). It addresses the determination of the settlement balance, the right to information under § 49 LwAnpG, the limitation period under § 51a LwAnpG as well as the proceedings before the agricultural court (§ 9 LwVG in conjunction with FamFG). Practically relevant especially in the East German federal states even more than three decades after reunification.
Inputs
- Identity of the claimant (former LPG member, heir, universal successor) — name details to be
[Mandant]/[Erblasser]redacted - Identity of the successor company (registered cooperative, GmbH, GbR, if applicable liquidator)
- Date of the member's departure or the cut-off date of the LPG transformation (§§ 23 et seq. LwAnpG)
- Previous payments / notices / information provided by the successor company
- Evidence (LPG admission agreement, inventory contributions, amortization schedules, LPG closing balance sheet)
- Federal state (Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Berlin)
Sub-agent architecture
Researcher provides the LwAnpG provisions (§§ 27 et seq., 44 et seq., 49, 51a, 64), the LwVG with its reference to FamFG, BGH Agricultural Senate decisions on the amount of the settlement and the limitation period as well as Schweizer/Düsing-Martinez commentary passages. Drafter prepares, in judgment style, an application to the agricultural court or, in report style, a memo on the limitation situation. Reviewer examines the standing to sue, the limitation period, the jurisdiction of the agricultural court and the allocation of the burden of proof.
Process
1. Legal basis
The central legal basis is § 44 LwAnpG (valuation and settlement balance of the departing member). Supplementary:
- § 28 LwAnpG — choice of legal form by the LPG, effects of the transformation
- §§ 36 et seq. LwAnpG — settlement on transformation into another legal form
- § 44 LwAnpG — settlement balance (inventory contribution, land share, fund share)
- § 44(6) LwAnpG
[unverifiziert]— installment payment arrangement, interest - § 49 LwAnpG — right to information against the successor company
- § 51a LwAnpG — special limitation provision
For heirs: § 1922 BGB in conjunction with the respective LwAnpG provision; standing to sue must be examined separately.
2. Determination of the settlement balance
Under § 44 LwAnpG, the settlement balance generally consists of the following components:
- inventory contribution of the member (in-kind contribution upon admission, usually livestock and machinery contributions)
- Land share (agricultural land contributed or taken over for use)
- Share in the fund of the LPG at the time of departure (valuation based on the LPG closing balance sheet or transitional balance sheet)
- less payments already made by the successor company
Basis for valuation: Schweizer, LwAnpG Commentary, § 44 LwAnpG [unverifiziert]; BGH Agricultural Senate line on the valuation of the transitional balance sheet and on fair market value vs. book value [unverifiziert – prüfen in juris].
3. Right to information § 49 LwAnpG
The departed member (or the heir) may, under § 49 LwAnpG, demand information about the calculation bases, in particular inspection of the transitional balance sheet and the LPG member list. Practically relevant as a staged action (corresponding to § 254 ZPO; before the Agricultural Court under FamFG provisions) if the successor company refuses the information.
4. Limitation period § 51a LwAnpG
§ 51a LwAnpG contains a special rule on the limitation period for settlement claims [unverifiziert – konkrete Fristdauer und Anknüpfungspunkt im aktuellen LwAnpG-Stand prüfen]. The regular limitation period of § 195 BGB does not apply. Because of the decades-long administrative practice, the individual starting point (service of the decision, provision of information, end of negotiations according to § 203 BGB by analogy) must be carefully examined.
5. Standing to sue and active legitimation
- Member: Entitled to claim upon departure from the LPG (§ 44 LwAnpG).
- Heir: Universal successor under § 1922 BGB. In the case of a community of heirs, joint litigation (§ 62 ZPO or the FamFG equivalent) — all heirs must be applicants unless a partition decision exists.
- Judgment creditor / insolvency administrator: after attachment or opening of insolvency proceedings.
Passively legitimized is the successor company in the respective legal form (e.G. / GmbH / GbR); in the liquidation stage, the liquidator. In the event of a merger of the successor company in the meantime: § 20 UmwG (universal succession).
6. Proceedings before the Agricultural Court
Jurisdiction: Agricultural Court at the Local Court (§ 1 in conjunction with § 9 LwVG); the proceedings are governed by the FamFG (§ 1 LwVG in conjunction with Book 8 of the FamFG [unverifiziert]). Instead of a statement of claim: application with a specific claim, facts, reasoning and evidence. Appeal against the decision of the Agricultural Court to the OLG Agricultural Senate under §§ 22 ff. GrdstVG in conjunction with § 9 LwVG [unverifiziert].
7. Settlement options
Because of the evidentiary situation (transitional balance sheets often difficult to reconstruct), mediation or a settlement under § 779 BGB is often practically advisable. A capitalization of the settlement credit with interest over 30+ years is regularly prone to dispute.
Sources and citation style
Binding: ../../../references/zitierweise.md.
Statute
- LwAnpG (in particular §§ 27 ff., 44 ff., 49, 51a, 64)
- LwVG (court proceedings in agricultural matters)
- FamFG (rules of procedure)
- § 1922 BGB (succession)
- § 254 ZPO (staged action; correspondingly in LwG proceedings)
- § 20 UmwG (succession in title upon merger)
Commentaries
- Schweizer, LwAnpG Commentary (most recent as of
[unverifiziert]) - Schmidt-Räntsch, in: Düsing/Martinez, Agrarrecht, LwAnpG part
[unverifiziert] - Bayer/Lange, LwAnpG (provided a current edition is available)
[unverifiziert]
Case law ([unverifiziert – prüfen in juris/openjur])
- BGH Agricultural Senate (BLw Senate) on the determination of the settlement balance and on the valuation of the transition balance sheet — standard line since the 1990s.
- BGH-BLw on the statute of limitations under § 51a LwAnpG and on suspension through negotiations.
- OLG Agricultural Senates (in particular Dresden, Naumburg, Rostock, Jena) on the staged action and on the right to information under § 49 LwAnpG.
Output format (application to the Agricultural Court)
An das Amtsgericht — Landwirtschaftsgericht — <Ort>
In der Landwirtschaftssache
[Antragsteller], <Anschrift>,
– Antragsteller –
Verfahrensbevollmächtigter: <Kanzlei>
gegen
[Nachfolgegesellschaft] e.G. / GmbH i.L., <Anschrift>,
– Antragsgegnerin –
wegen Auseinandersetzungsguthaben nach §§ 44 ff. LwAnpG
beantragen wir,
1. die Antragsgegnerin zu verpflichten, dem Antragsteller Auskunft
über die Berechnungsgrundlagen seines Auseinandersetzungs-
guthabens nach § 49 LwAnpG zu erteilen, insbesondere durch
Vorlage der Übergangsbilanz zum <Stichtag>;
2. die Antragsgegnerin zu verpflichten, an den Antragsteller den
sich aus der Auskunft ergebenden Betrag zu zahlen, mindestens
jedoch <Mindestbetrag> EUR nebst Zinsen.
Begründung
I. Sachverhalt
1. Mitgliedschaft Erblasser/Antragsteller
2. Ausscheiden / Tod / Erbfolge
3. Bisherige Zahlungen / Auskünfte
II. Anspruchsgrundlage
§ 44 LwAnpG; § 49 LwAnpG; § 1922 BGB
III. Anspruchshöhe (Stufe 1: Auskunft; Stufe 2: Zahlung)
IV. Verjährung
§ 51a LwAnpG; ggf. Hemmung § 203 BGB
V. Zuständigkeit
§ 1, § 9 LwVG i.V.m. FamFG
Beweismittel:
– LPG-Aufnahmevertrag vom <Datum>, Anlage K1
– Übergangsbilanz <Stichtag>, soweit vorhanden, Anlage K2
– ...
[Kostenhinweis nach RVG / Honorarvereinbarung – nur im Mandantenbrief]
Example (excerpt from expert opinion on the statute of limitations)
IV. Statute of limitations, § 51a LwAnpG. The client's settlement claim is not subject to the regular statute of limitations under § 195 BGB, but to the special provision of § 51a LwAnpG
[unverifiziert – konkrete Fristdauer im aktuellen Stand prüfen]. The point of reference, according to the line of the BGH Agricultural Senate, is[unverifiziert]not the member's departure, but the maturity of the settlement balance after the transition balance sheet has been established. Since the respondent has to date not provided verifiable information under § 49 LwAnpG, the statute of limitations with respect to the main claim has not yet expired; in any event, it was suspended through negotiations (§ 203 BGB by analogy) as long as the respondent signaled willingness to pay and provide information. Recommendation: Anticipate the objection of the statute of limitations as a precaution and address it in the application.
Risks / typical mistakes
- Civil division instead of Agricultural Court seised — referral costs time and fees.
- Community of heirs not complete listed as applicant — lack of active legitimation.
- Staged action not used, although the information under § 49 LwAnpG is outstanding — avoidable difficulty of proof.
- Objection of the statute of limitations not anticipated, although § 51a LwAnpG contains an independent statute of limitations rule.
- Valuation of the transition balance sheet attackable without an expert opinion (§ 30 FamFG / § 144 ZPO correspondingly).
- Merger of the successor company overlooked — incorrect passive legitimation (§ 20 UmwG).
- Specific EUR amounts of the settlement depend on the individual case — no blanket formulas without a balance sheet basis.