The German Federal Court (“BGH”) dismissed Claudia Pechstein’s claim against the International Skating Union (“ISU”) for damages in the amount of EUR 4.4 million. Contrary to the previous instances, the BGH found that Mrs. Pechstein had signed a valid arbitration agreement in favor of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) which leads to the inadmissibility of the claim and upheld the appeal filed by the ISU.
The BGH concluded – that the ISU did not abuse its dominant market position when it requested an arbitration agreement in favour of the CAS from Mrs Pechstein as requirement for the participation in ISU competitions. The previous instance, the Higher Regional Court of Munich (OLG München) had based its adverse finding inter alia on the assumption that the interests of federations and athletes would be diametrically opposed. The BGH followed the argumentation of the ISU and found that in particular in the fight against doping, federations and athletes have parallel interests.
For the press release of the BGH (in German), please click here.