Pure Fashion demands around 464 million euros from the federal government in dispute over coronavirus masks

In support of its case, Pure Fashion relies on phone calls and emails with Spahn and ministry staff. In a message dated 9 March 2020, Spahn wrote that he wanted to «heute rechtlich verbindlich [...] einlocken, damit die Masken bei uns in D (Deutschland) landen». Later, another email stated: «Jetzt will ich erst mal rechtlich verbindlich das Zeug ;-)» and in a further message: «So, bin jetzt vorerst raus hier, praktischen Rest mit meinen Leuten klären.» The emails are in the possession of the Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

The emails and their significance

The ministry, however, does not consider the communication to constitute a purchase contract. It says that at the time the pledges involved significantly larger quantities than expected, the prices were high and shortly afterwards fell, which would have led to purchases at inflated prices. The ministry justified why Pure Fashion ultimately did not come into play by saying, among other things, that the company was not serious and presumably not sufficiently creditworthy. Later, however, the ministry did purchase protective equipment from Pure Fashion.

Reactions and accusations

Geissler described this reasoning as incomprehensible. «Das macht keinen Sinn und zeigt, dass das eine vorgeschobene Begründung ist, über die man unsere Mandantin noch dazu nie informierte», he said. With reference to the special mask investigation report by special investigator Margaretha Sudhof (SPD) from 2025, the attorney also pointed out that an offer from a Swiss company had reached Spahn directly through CSU channels. Geissler's remark that Spahn's apparently sudden lack of interest in the first major order from Pure Fashion «könnte dafür sprechen, dass jemandem ein Gefallen getan werden sollte» also caused a stir on Wednesday. According to the report, the intermediary in the Swiss deal was said to have been the daughter of a former CSU politician.

The case concerns one of numerous lawsuits related to the ministry's mask procurements at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Various courts have already ruled in favor of other mask suppliers whose goods were not accepted by the federal government or were rejected as defective; in most of the cases that ended up in court, the suppliers prevailed. Pure Fashion stated again on Wednesday that it remained willing to settle.

Background: mask procurement during the pandemic

Around 80,000 euros in enforcement interest are added every day, Geissler said, warning: «Seither tickt die Uhr immer weiter, jeden Tag kommen rund 80.000 Euro an Vollzugszinsen hinzu.» A ruling is expected in a few weeks. A spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group rejected the accusations: «In der Pandemie ging es Herrn Spahn stets und einzig darum, in Unkenntnis des weiteren Pandemieverlaufs ausreichend Schutzausrüstung zu beschaffen.»

Spahn, now Jens Spahn, had called the Hamburg textile retailer Matthias Timm, the managing director of Pure Fashion, on 8 March 2020 and asked for help. The events take place against the backdrop of a phase at the beginning of the pandemic when protective masks were scarce in Germany and prices were rising. Pure Fashion is now insisting on a binding commitment; the federal government, by contrast, sees the emails and phone calls merely as pre-contractual negotiations from which no claim to performance can arise.