Menold Bezler Again Successful for Verband Region Stuttgart in Cost Overrun Lawsuit Filed by Deutsche Bahn in the “Stuttgart 21” Project

On 1 August 2025, the Administrative Court of Appeal of Baden-Württemberg (Verwaltungsgerichtshof, VGH) in Mannheim confirmed that the project partners – the State of Baden-Württemberg, the City of Stuttgart, Verband Region Stuttgart, and Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH – are not required to contribute to the additional financing costs of the Stuttgart 21 railway project. The VGH rejected Deutsche Bahn’s application for leave to appeal against the judgment of the Stuttgart Administrative Court (VG) dated 7 May 2024 (Case No. 14 S 1737/24).

The judgment of the Stuttgart Administrative Court had already clarified that the project partners are not obliged to bear any cost increases beyond the contribution agreed upon in the 2009 financing agreement. Since the judgment did not allow for an appeal, Deutsche Bahn submitted an application for leave to appeal to the VGH.

The VGH dismissed this application, stating that there were no serious doubts regarding the correctness of the ruling, the case posed no significant factual or legal challenges, and there were no procedural errors. According to the court, the issues surrounding the financing agreement are straightforward. Deutsche Bahn had argued that the Administrative Court had not sufficiently considered the risks of a potential project standstill or an unstructured termination, as the company would not be able to bear the additional costs alone. The VGH rejected this argument, stating that Deutsche Bahn holds primary financial responsibility as the project sponsor.

As a result, the Stuttgart Administrative Court’s ruling is now legally binding.

Menold Bezler successfully represented Verband Region Stuttgart in both instances.

Further information on the initial proceedings before the Stuttgart Administrative Court can be found in our press release.